Malaysia and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday regarding the recruitment and protection of Indonesia domestic workers in Malaysia. The signing was witnessed by Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo in Jakarta.
The MoU comes nearly six years after the last agreement lapsed amid unsuccessful talks on renewal. Malaysia is the main destination for Indonesian migrant workers, and hosts the largest section of Indonesian workers globally. Earlier negotiations came to a standstill over a push for better terms and conditions for migrant workers. The two sides first signed an MoU on domestic workers in 2006 and renewed it in 2011. The agreement lapsed in 2016 and was not renewed due to differences in migrant labour requirements, with Indonesia passing the Migrant Workers Protection Law in 2017 in a bid to improve the rights and quality of life of its migrant labour force.
