Indonesia withdraws restrictions on workers entry to Malaysia

JAKARTA: Indonesia lifted its restrictions on the entry of its workforce into Malaysia, and agreed to integrate the existing system between the Malaysian Immigration Department and the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur for the recruitment of Indonesian domestic workers (PDI).

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said the integration of this system will act as a single channel for the recruitment and entry of PDI into Malaysia as agreed in the previous Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

“This system will be operational in three more weeks under the supervision of the Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Working Group,“ he said in a statement with his Indonesian counterpart Ida Fauziyah.

He said a pilot project will be implemented for a period of three months once the system’s integration is completed to ensure the smooth execution of the single channel system.

“Therefore, the Indonesian side has agreed to withdraw the restrictions on the entry of PDI and Indonesian labourers (TKI) into Malaysia starting August 1,“ said Saravanan.

Saravanan believes that the resolution of the issues in the MoU of the PDI will lead to the smooth entry of Indonesian workers into Malaysia in the domestic service sector as well as other sectors that are allowed to employ foreign workers.

Therefore, he reminded employers whose foreign worker quotas have been approved by the Ministry of Human Resources to immediately make levy payments with the Malaysian Immigration Department.

Employers who wish to employ Indonesian workers can recruit from Monday next week, he said.

On July 13, Indonesia announced the decision to temporarily freeze the entry of all the country’s workers into Malaysia for not using the single system as previously agreed.

Saravanan was in Jakarta in conjunction with the meeting of the Joint Working Group between Malaysia and Indonesia as outlined in the MoU regarding the PDI which was completed on July 27.

This meeting discussed policy and technical issues in the implementation of the MoU signed on April 1, 2022.

Earlier, Ida said a mutual agreement on the necessary steps is important to ensure the full implementation of the MoU, especially on the One Channel System (OCS).

Previously, the Joint Working Group had discovered several policy and technical implementation issues that could affect the implementation of the MoU.

“We agree to take all the necessary steps to ensure that the terms in the MoU are fully complied with by all parties by involving the respective governments’ relevant agencies or institutions,“ she said.

Ida added the effectiveness of the implementation of the commitments made in the MoU is also important before Indonesia sends PDI back to Malaysia later in August.

--BERNAMA