Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (PAPA) president Jeffrey Foo said the direct hiring method might expose domestic workers to abuse.
“They might not have a local contact to raise and report issues. We are not in favour of direct hiring. It is commendable as it allows Malaysians to save cost but the employers may take the law into their own hands,” he told FMT.
He was asked to comment on Indonesia’s intention to possibly revisit a moratorium on sending its domestic workers to Malaysia after the death of Adelina Lisao in Penang last week.
It is unclear if Adelina’s job with her employer was arranged through agents in Malaysia. The direct hiring system only came into force this year.
Her death has renewed a national debate on the need to strengthen protection for migrant workers.
Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was reported as saying that Adelina’s case was an isolated one and that he hoped Indonesia would not take such a drastic step.
Foo said there was no solution until both the governments and stakeholders such as PAPA come up with a solution to the problem.
He said agents had a list of bad employers and that they would normally intervene to curb problems between the employer and the helper. “The maid has a place to contact if she needs help. We can send her to a better home or back to her country,” he said.
But with direct hiring, he said, the maid had to deal with the problem on her own.
Foo added that the Immigration Department had a list of blacklisted employers but that there were loopholes.
For instance, another family member of a blacklisted employer could apply for a helper to work in the home, he said.
Direct hiring is done through the Maid Online System (SMO) which went live beginning this year. It is a more affordable way of getting domestic helpers, as going through agents could cost around RM12,000.
There are about 250,000 foreigners who works as domestic helpers in the country.
Foo also said banning Indonesian domestic workers from working in Malaysia, would mean lesser educated Indonesians might be deprived of work.
Zahid hopes Indonesia will not stop sending maids to Malaysia