Malaysia, Cambodia should reconcile on maid issue - MAMA

Malaysian Maid Employers Association (MAMA) president Engku Ahmad Fauzi Engku Muhsein urged the Malaysian and Cambodian government to reconcile and draft another Memorandum of Understand (MoU) to recruit its citizens as maids to this country.

Cambodia Daily had reported earlier that negotiations have stalled after Malaysia rejected 90 percent of proposed provisions to protect workers’ rights.

“I do not have access to the MoU and what exactly did Malaysia reject so it’s hard for me to comment,” said Engku Ahmad when contacted by Astro AWANI.

However, he added that Malaysia will not simply reject anything as the country needed more domestic workers to meet the demands of Malaysian employers.

“Cambodia might be more cautious due to several cases involving foreign domestic workers. The regulations in the MoU might be tighter to protect the Cambodian domestic workers. At the same time I think that Malaysia also wants to protect the interests of Malaysian employers as well.

When explained that some of the requests apparently rejected by Malaysia included being provided three meals daily and for Cambodian foreign workers to hold to their passports, Engku Ahmad said that these are similar requests from Indonesia.

"This is the same as our agreement with Indonesia. They are already being allowed to keep their passports,"

he added.

The Cambodia Daily also reported that Putrajaya rejected Cambodia’s requests that domestic workers be able to view and sign their employment contract before leaving Cambodia and accrue annual leave.

The daily also claimed that Malaysia returned the MoU with a black line through a provision that employers should “respect the basic human rights of the DW [domestic worker].”

“It does raise the question: How do Malaysian employers view their Cambodian employees?” asked Jenna Holliday, communications specialist at U.N. Women.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen suspended sending Cambodian domestic workers to Malaysia in 2011 following reports of abuse and sexual exploitation.