Ministries to hold urgent talks as Indonesia halts entry of workers

The human resources ministry will hold urgent discussions with the home ministry about Indonesia's decision to temporarily halt the entry of its workers into Malaysia.

The human resources ministry, in a statement, said discussions would be held immediately to address issues related to the entry of workers from the neighbouring country, including Indonesian domestic helpers.

Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia Hermono was reported as saying that an official letter had been sent to Human Resources Minister M Saravanan on Tuesday regarding Indonesia’s decision to temporarily stop sending workers to Malaysia.

Hermono said the decision was due to allegations of a breach in the terms of agreement on the recruitment and protection of domestic helpers signed by the two countries.

He also said the move was taken following the use of the Maid Online System by the Malaysian Immigration Department in the recruitment of Indonesian domestic helpers, which was deemed to be a violation of the agreement signed on April 1.