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Indonesia, Malaysia to renew lapsed migrant labor deal
After a nearly six-year legal vacuum, Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to resume a migrant labor agreement that improves on protections for Indonesian workers.
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Authorities conduct a medical examination of 47 Indonesian migrant workers who were caught by the Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) while returning home from Malaysia via illegal routes in Nongsa, Batam, Riau Islands, on April 15, 2020. (Courtesy of Bakamla/via kompas.com)
T
he governments of Indonesia and Malaysia are expected to sign on Friday a much-anticipated memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the recruitment of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, nearly six years after the last agreement lapsed amid unsuccessful talks on renewal.
Malaysia is the main destination for Indonesian migrant workers, and plays host to the largest section of the Indonesian diaspora globally. But when labor reforms were set in motion, negotiations came to a standstill over a push for better terms and conditions for migrant workers.
The two sides first signed an MOU on domestic workers in 2006 and renewed it in 2011. The agreement lapsed in 2016 and was not renewed due to differences in migrant labor requirements, with Indonesia passing the Migrant Workers Protection Law in 2017 in a bid to improve the rights and quality of life of its migrant labor force.
But now, both Indonesian and Malaysian sources have confirmed that the deal will be renewed, in what is considered a win for efforts to improve labor conditions.
In a written statement obtained by The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister Saravanan Murugan said that he would be signing an MOU “on the employment and protection of Indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia,” together with Manpower Minister Ida Fauziah on April 1 in Jakarta.
Saravanan also said that Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo would bear witness to the MOU signing ceremony.
A Malaysian Embassy source in Jakarta confirmed the schedule but did not elaborate on the details.
