Asia-Pacific

Malaysia, Indonesia agree to end maid ban

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-27 19:54

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia will sign a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia on Monday to end a nearly two-year-old maid ban imposed by Indonesia over reports of maid abuse in Malaysia.

Human resource minister S. Subramanian said in a statement on Friday that he and his Indonesian counterpart Muhaimin Iskandar would sign the agreement in Indonesia on Monday.

The agreement is expected to reduce the shortage of domestic helpers in the country.

Indonesia prevented its citizens from working as maids in Malaysia in 2009 over a series of maid abuse cases in Malaysia.

Both governments have held talks to end the freeze, with the Indonesian government making several proposals including a minimum wage for maids, allowing them to retain  passports, and giving a compulsory day off for maids.

According to last year's figure, there were about 1.2 million documented and 800,000 illegal Indonesian workers in Malaysia.