The Human Resources Ministry has asked all relevant quarters, including the Malaysian Maid Employers Association (Mama), to submit a formal proposal to the government on the cost of hiring Indonesian maids.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Dr S.Subramaniam said the government welcomed proposals for lower and more effective costs.

"There is no monopoly or time limit in this matter. The ministry is open to suggestions from any quarters which can prove they can reduce the cost," he said.

Dr Subramaniam said this to reporters after the soft launch of the Swamiji 150 project, in conjunction with Swami Vivekanda's 150th anniversary at Dewan Tan Sri Soma, Wisma Tun Sambanthan, here on Friday.

He said until today, only the Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) had come up with suggestions on the cost of hiring Indonesian maids.

Last Friday, Papa announced the cost of hiring Indonesian maids was set at RM6,700, with immediate effect.

This new cost structure did not include an additional RM1,800 as a loan for maids to share the Indonesian Domestic Sector Manpower fee in Indonesia.

Mama opposed Papa's suggestion, saying it was unreasonable and burdened employers.

Dr Subramaniam also reminded that all matters and hiring administration was carried out through a process between the Malaysian and Indonesian governments to control the increasing cost.

He said the ministry will continue to monitor the market price and interfere should it get out of hand.

He said the cost proposal by Papa provided the biggest saving, from RM12,000 to RM6,700.

"The cost has dropped compared to Papa's earlier suggestion of RM12,000.

When compared to the market price, most employers still pay between RM11,000 and RM12,000," he said.

Speaking on the minimum wage, Dr Subramaniam stressed to employers that foreign workers could not be excluded from minimum wage because the Employment Act did not allow discrimination between group of workers on basis of nationality.

"We announced that the minimum wage will be effective from Jan 1, this year. We have given the employers eight months to prepare themselves and now its time for the implementation stage.

"As far as the implementation of minimum wage, there is no turning back. However, we will assist those affected employers through other mechanism, but not differing the implementation or reducing the quantum," he explained.