The Indonesian government has lifted its suspension of sending migrant workers to Malaysia and will once again send workers starting from August 1 this year. Indonesian Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah and Malaysian Minister of Human Resources M. Saravanan signed an agreement regarding manpower and Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) protection in Malaysia.
Indonesia decided to temporarily stop sending migrant workers for all sectors to Malaysia due to the indications of the use of online maid recruitment methods in Malaysia to employ Indonesian workers in the domestic sector. Whereas in the MoU agreed in April, the official dispatch of TKI must use the One Channel System (OCS).
In a joint statement from the two ministers received by Tempo, the agreement to re-implement this MoU began with the first Joint Working Group (JWG) between Indonesia and Malaysia in Jakarta on Wednesday 27 April 2022. The JWG does not deny that there are a number of policy and technical problems that may arise. affect the smooth implementation of the MoU.
Several measures to enforce the MoU were later approved. First, the two ministers reaffirmed that OCS is the only TKI recruitment and placement mechanism in Malaysia.
Second, OCS is implemented by integrating the online system which is managed by the Indonesian Representative in Malaysia and is fully managed by the Malaysian Immigration Department in accordance with the agreed terms and conditions, as stipulated in the MoU.
Third, before the full implementation of the system under OCS, the two ministers agreed to ensure the smooth application and reliability of the integrated system, a 3-month pilot project should be carried out. In the future, the certainty of the implementation of this MoU will be monitored by the relevant authorities in each country.
In addition to the OCS affirmation, the two ministers also shared their views on the protection and welfare of the Indonesian Migrant Workers.