Malaysia yet to decide on salary increase for Indonesian maids

The government has yet to decide on the salary increase for Indonesian maids, from RM700 to RM1,200 a month as proposed by the Indonesian government.

Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Mutalib said the matter had to be studied and discussions to be held with the various quarters before any decision could be made.

"The salary increase was proposed by the Indonesian government, but we have not made any decision on it," he told reporters after presenting contributions to 50 students pursuing studies at institutions of higher learning here today.

However, he said the proposed salary increase by the Indonesian government was too high

There are currently 146,993 registered foreign domestic maids in the country and most of them are from Indonesia.

Ismail, who is Maran Member of Parliament said the proposed salary increase by the Indonesian government was too high compared with the minimum salary of RM900 for local workers.

The proposal was made during the meeting of the joint Malaysia-Indonesia working group on the Amended Protocol of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Services of Indonesian Domestic Maids in Putrajaya on May 13.

The Indonesian government felt that the proposal would make the services of domestic maids in Malaysia more competitive compared with the salaries offered by other countries.