It will be a historic deal because, since May 2016, Indonesian migrants in Malaysia have worked without any legal protection from abusive employers. The Malaysian prime minister and President Jokowi agreed in November last year to accelerate negotiations on the MoU.

Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah and Malaysian Human Resources Minister M. Saravanan are scheduled to sign the document. After six years of negotiations, the MoU will finally be in place.

Indonesia's ambassador to Malaysia, Hermono, told Free Malaysia Today (FMT) the ceremony had originally been slated to be held on March 17 or 18. It was rescheduled to readjust the prime minister’s itinerary.

“So, we are looking for a new date sometime in April as agreed upon by the two leaders. It will be signed in Jakarta,” Hermono told FMT on March 15.

Government officials in Jakarta confirmed the agreement on the protection of Indonesian migrants employed in neighboring Malaysia.

“All our interests have been accommodated in the MoU. We just need to make sure that it will be fully implemented by both sides,” a senior government official who was directly involved in the negotiation told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

This means Malaysia has agreed to abolish the Maid Online system, a direct hiring platform that allows migrant workers to enter Malaysia using a 14-day tourist visa and then convert it to a work visa after their arrival, bypassing all legal requirements and procedures. It will be easier for the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to monitor and take any actions needed to protect migrant workers.

For millions of Indonesian migrants, the MoU will rekindle their hope of much better working conditions in Malaysia. Hopefully, the news will not be an April Fool's joke.

Millions of Indonesian unskilled migrant workers, who are employed legally or illegally, and millions of others who want to work in Malaysia and escape from poverty can now expect better legal protection.

For Hermono, the signing of the MoU will be a memorable moment. He recalled that his statements about Malaysia's responsibility to protect Indonesian migrants had repeatedly upset Malaysian ministers and senior government officials. Hermono believes many migrant workers have fallen into the trap of modern slavery. 

In the last few decades, Indonesian presidents entrusted the ambassadorial post in Kuala Lumpur to non-career diplomats, such as retired police and military generals and businessman. In 2020, President Jokowi sought a career diplomat with vast experience and knowledge, and who has a strong empathy for the condition of millions of Indonesian migrant workers, many of whom are undocumented, for the post.

The President finally chose senior diplomat Hermono, as recommended by Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi.

Hermono previously served as Indonesian ambassador to Spain. He was also the second top official at the Agency for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BP2MI), a position that gave him vast knowledge about the situation faced by Indonesian migrant workers overseas. Malaysia is the largest recipient of workers from Indonesia.

When President Jokowi swore in Hermono as his envoy to Malaysia in September 2020, he instructed Hermono to do what it takes to protect Indonesian migrant workers in the neighboring country.

According to The Star, Hermono has angered some Malaysian ministers with his frank remarks during interviews with local media organizations about the lack of progress in the negotiation to finalize the MoU. He reportedly told journalists in January that Indonesia would stop sending blue-collar workers to palm oil plantations, construction sites and households if Malaysia could not guarantee their safety and welfare. He openly expressed his concern over the practice of “modern slavery”.

Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin and Human Resources Minister M. Saravanan were so angry with the outspoken Indonesian diplomat that they asked the office of Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah to summon the ambassador twice within a week last month. What angered the ministers was his direct comparison between Malaysia and Singapore in treating unskilled Indonesian workers.

“Hermono has been criticizing the Malaysian government in the local media, including over the memorandum of understanding on maids. He has not minced his words in his interviews; in a recent one with a news portal, he questioned why there were so many cases of poor treatment of Indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia but few to none in Singapore,” The Star reported last month.

When asked about the two warnings from the Malaysian Foreign Ministry for Hermono, a senior Indonesian official described them as “a common thing”.

Since May 30, 2016, Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia have not had legal protection because the previous MoU expired that day. Indonesia and Malaysia signed an MoU for the first time in Bali on May 13, 2006, and it was renewed in Bandung, West Java, on May 31, 2011.

Some 2.7 million unskilled and undereducated Indonesians, mostly undocumented, are now risking their lives for dirty and rough jobs. They need Malaysian ringgits to feed themselves and their families at home.

Reports of boats transporting undocumented Indonesian workers capsizing in Indonesian waters on their way to the neighboring country have become common. Many of those who were able to reach the country found themselves becoming victims of modern slavery.

Hermono has accomplished his mission to help the government push Malaysia to sign the much-awaited MoU. Other ambassadors may pride their achievement on bringing home major investments to Indonesia or boosting Indonesian exports. On several occasions, President Jokowi indeed asked Indonesian envoys to prioritize national economic interests.

Ambassador Hermono is different. The new MoU is badly needed to protect millions of Indonesian citizens in Malaysia. Do not forget the workers have sent home millions of ringgits to their families at home, many of whom live in poverty.

Hermono may have his haters among Malaysian ministers, but he has succeeded in completing the President’s assignment.

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The writer is a senior editor at The Jakarta Post.