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ndonesia is hopeful that Malaysia, under the leadership of re-instated Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, would be more cooperative in renewing an agreement on the protection of Indonesian domestic workers in spite of the dubious policies the world’s oldest leader made in the past.

Following a positive first meeting between Mahathir and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in Bogor, West Java, on Friday, one Indonesian official said that Malaysia had finally shown some goodwill after years of stagnant negotiations over the contentious migrant workers issue.

“Under [former prime minister] Najib’s leadership, Malaysia was reluctant in discussing the MoU [memorandum of understanding] for the placement of domestic workers. Under Mahathir, there’s a positive signal from the government to be more democratic and reformist,” Iqbal told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The neighbors have yet to renew a 2011 bilateral agreement on the placement of Indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia, which expired in May 2016. Indonesia has claimed that Malaysia had caused the delay by not responding to two separate requests to meet for negotiations.

While the two governments have not yet delved into the details — Malaysia is still without a foreign minister, although there may be an announcement soon — Iqbal expressed optimism that a future agreement would benefit both Indonesian workers and their employers in Malaysia.

Following his meeting with Mahathir on Friday, Jokowi briefly touched on the migrant worker issue, having called for the protection of the 2 million Indonesians working in Malaysia. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, speaking to reporters after the leaders’ joint press statement, said the President had proposed to Mahathir a new agreement on placement and protection.

“There have actually been talks since 2016 [about a new agreement] but this time we’re pushing [the negotiators] to complete it sooner because it is harder for both countries to regulate without an agreement,” she said.

According to Law No. 18/2017 on the protection of Indonesian migrant workers, a placement country may only receive Indonesian workers if it has signed an MoU to safeguard their well-being. Mahathir has yet to signal a definitive stance on the issue, but at least one labor activist is appealing to the Indonesian government to remain cautious. Migrant Care executive director Wahyu Susilo said Jakarta should be reminded of Mahathir’s track record as the leader of Malaysia, despite promises of reform by his newly installed government.

“Mahathir’s past administration had applied repressive policies on Indonesian migrant workers numerous times,” Wahyu said, taking the 1998 Semenyih riot as a prime example.

In March of 1998, violent riots broke out at four detention camps in Malaysia — Semenyih camp in Selangor state, Machap Umbo camp in Malacca, Juru camp in Penang and Lenggeng camp in Negeri Sembilan — because police launched simultaneous operations to deport from Malaysia 545 illegal Acehnese immigrants.

Tallies of people killed by Malaysian police vary from nine to 24. Mahathir had pledged to continue deporting illegal migrants despite outrage at the time.

Also, in February this year, the death of a 21-year-old Indonesian domestic worker in Penang renewed a national debate on the need to strengthen protections.

By coincidence, just a few hours after Jokowi and Mahathir met on Friday, four illegal Indonesian migrant workers returning home to East Nusa Tenggara died after their boat capsized after a collision with a speed boat believed to have come from the Philippines, Antara reported. Both boats were illegal, local officials said.