Hermono, who is currently in Jakarta to meet Indonesian officials to discuss and finalise their stand, said they were looking for a win-win formula so that both sides could benefit and maintain the ties between the two countries.
“On our part, we are almost there. We will present our formula to the Malaysian officials at the two-day joint working group (JWG) meeting scheduled to take place in Jakarta from tomorrow.
“The main dispute is the visa conversion under the Maid Online System (MOS). The final decision will be made by JWG.
“Hopefully, it will be a win-win solution for all,” he told FMT from Jakarta.
He said the Malaysian human resources minister and Indonesia’s manpower minister were scheduled to witness the signing of the documents on the terms agreed by JWG after the meeting.
Asked if Malaysia’s MOS, which is the bone of contention between the two countries, would be merged with the One Channel System for the intake of Indonesian workers including domestic helpers, he said it was still under discussion.
“During our meeting in Kuala Lumpur with representatives from the Malaysian human resources ministry and home ministry on July 22, we agreed on the main elements on how to move forward to fully implement the terms of the MoU,” he said.
Hermono said among the points agreed was that conversion of visas under the MOS would stop on Aug 15.
“But JWG will make the final decision on this.”
Under the MOS, Indonesian workers may enter the country on a tourist visa before applying for a work permit. Jakarta wants this practice to end due to the risk of forced labour that Indonesian citizens face.
“We also agreed what both parties have to do during the transition period which ends on Aug 15. I am confident that JWG will fine-tune and endorse the results of the meeting we had on July 22. I don’t see any contentious issue at the moment,” Hermono said.
MOS was supposed to have been scrapped in the MoU signed between the two countries on April 1 for the recruitment of domestic workers.
On July 13, Indonesia imposed a freeze on all Indonesian workers entering Malaysia, citing Malaysia’s non-compliance with the MoU on the use of MOS.
Malaysia is heavily dependent on Indonesian workers, with 1.6 million of them in the plantation and manufacturing sectors and as domestic workers, as reported recently by the Antara news agency.
According to the report, Bank Indonesia data showed the total remittance from its citizens working abroad prior to the Covid-19 pandemic was around US$3 billion (RM13.4 billion) per year. No specific mention was made about how much of it came from Malaysia but it is said to be a substantial amount.