KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesia has imposed yet another freeze on its workers entering Malaysia over what it claims was a breach of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between both countries on the import of domestic workers from the republic.
Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia Hermano said the ban was in effect immediately, though those with active work visas may travel back to Indonesia and return to Malaysia.
He said the move and its reasons had been conveyed to Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan via an official letter sent yesterday.
"The minister has been informed of our intentions to reinstate a temporary freeze on the recruitment of Indonesian workers in all sectors in Malaysia effective immediately," he told the New Straits Times.
In December, Indonesia enforced a freeze on its workers pending the signing of the MoU on the matter.
The freeze was lifted on April 1 when the MoU, citing the terms of employment and protection of Indonesian domestic workers, was signed by both countries on the same day.
Hermano said all recruitment agencies in Indonesia had been updated on the development.
On the MoU breach by Malaysia, Hermano said the Immigration Department's continued use of the Maid Online System (MOS) in the recruitment of their workers was a breach of the MoU.
The agreement, he said, stipulated that the hiring of workers would go through the One Channel System introduced under the MoU to protect the welfare of domestic workers.
He claimed Indonesia had evidence that the MOS system, which the republic and activists had opposed due to its alleged lack of protection for workers, was still in operation.
Hermano said only 16 applications for domestic workers had been received by the republic since the MoU was signed on April 1.
He said an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 Indonesian workers, meanwhile, had arrived for other sectors.
"All fresh applications submitted from today would be kept on hold alongside the 15,000 to 20,000 applications that had been received," he said.
The One Channel System, he said, provided the authorities with information on the whereabouts of workers, employers' identities and the contracts to safeguard workers' rights.
Hermano said the system engaged only with government-registered agents from both countries and linked the recruitment process between both countries so everyone involved was accountable.
He said a crucial feature of the recruitment and placement flow in the One Channel System was that the Immigration Department could only issue an employment visa after the embassy endorsed the employment contract.
He claimed that the Immigration Department's MOS system, however, allowed anyone, even "illegal" agents, to bring Indonesian workers into the country using a tourist visa.
"One cannot know if the worker was underage if her tourist visa was converted to an employment visa or even if she had a contract at the time the application was made."
Hermano claimed the MOS allowed Indonesian women to "disappear" into Malaysian households, some never to be heard from again.
He also claimed that many ended up being held against their will and were subjected to forced labour practices.
On whether the shortage in workers would lead to an uptick in trafficking, Hermano said he believed that it was not something Malaysian companies were willing to risk.
"Malaysia is a major player in the global supply chain and companies hiring undocumented migrant workers would lose out on deals with buyers or have their goods seized at ports of entry, in countries such as the United States.
"Indonesia will not hesitate against filing complaints against such companies."
Hermano said he was disappointed that after so much effort, the MoU was breached in a matter of months.