Cost of Indonesian maid recruitment set at RM7,800, Dewan Rakyat told

Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Awang Hashim said the cost was set in the previous memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and Indonesia.

"The memorandum has set the cost which is RM7,800, if there are charges or fees in excess as stipulated, you can make a report to the Department of Labour," he said.

He was replying to P. Kasthuriraani (PH-Batu Kawan) who had wanted to know the costs paid by the applicants to the Indonesian domestic recruitment agents before the COVID-19 outbreak and the number of agencies involved in the recruitment of migrant workers from Bangladesh.

On the recruitment of migrant workers from Bangladesh, Awang said the Cabinet meeting on Dec 10, 2021 had agreed that it would be made through 275 Bangladeshi employment agencies.

To prevent corruption and exploitation of migrant workers, he said that among the measures taken was through an MoU on the employment of foreign workers with the source country.

"Only private employment agencies registered under the Private Employment Agencies Act 1981 [Act 246] are allowed to assist employers in managing all matters relating to placement of foreign workers in the country," he said.