The Malaysian Insight

A MAJOR shortage of foreign domestic workers has caused tension and hardship in many households in the past two years, industry players said in urging the government to allow the recruitment to resume.

They said the situation has been made worse with many applications still pending as many maids had returned to their countries of origin during the Covid-19 pandemic.

They said the government should start looking at new destinations to source for maids and find a way to allow foreign maids to enter the country.

Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) president Foo Yong Hooi told The Malaysian Insight that the number of foreign maids dropped from 300,000 to fewer than 90,000 after the Covid-19 struck.

“Many have returned to their country of origin. It is disappointing as foreign tourists are allowed to enter Malaysia but not foreign maids,” he said, adding that many households are getting desperate as the country’s situation is returning to normalcy again.

He said it is difficult to get local domestic helpers to overcome the void left by the foreign maids.

A total of 977 private employment agencies have expressed readiness to work hand in hand with the Human Resources Ministry to open up opportunities to locals but received no response, he said.

“Being a maid is not a career option for most local women. This should be addressed with other approaches,” Foo said.

He said innovation could be introduced as was done when the government helped the tourism industry, which was badly affected by Covid-19.

“Monitoring (foreign labour) is easier actually because there are already employers to contact and fees for quarantine centres can also be paid by the respective employers,” he said.

Sourcing from new countries

Foo said the high demand this time is for maids from Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and India.

He said Papa has also applied to recruit maids from Bangladesh and the government has agreed in principle.

“Now the high commissioner of Bangladesh needs to write a formal letter to our government.,” he said.

“As a result of initial discussions with partners in Bangladesh, I can state that the cost may be below RM10,000, which is the cheapest compared with other countries.”

Foo, however, said the suitability of Bangladeshi maids for local families has yet to be ascertained but the country could be a source for maids.

He acknowledged that there are problems in getting Filipino and Indonesian maids but they are being addressed.

“Several issues need to be resolved to hire Indonesian domestic workers,” he said.

“For the Philippines, there are some problems due to the pandemic and the government must find a solution to this.”

He also predicted that more domestic jobs will be available once Malaysia opens its borders, as many foreign maids are expected to terminate their contracts to return home.

“The government must find an immediate solution, taking into account several supply and demand factors involving maids in Malaysia,” he said.

Remove discrimination

Another association also raised the same issue and urged the government not to adopt a discriminatory attitude on the entry of foreigners.

Malaysian Maid Employers Association (Mama) president Engku Ahmad Fauzi Muhsein said maids should be allowed in like expatriates.

“If expatriates can enter Malaysia, why not foreign maids? Why should there be double standards? Covid-19 will only be transmitted through foreign maids?” he asked.

He said Mama fully supports Papa’s statement and urged the government to find an immediate solution to the recruitment of foreign maids.

“Every agent has received so many applications for foreign maids,” he said.

“These foreign maids are a necessity for families who are busy with daily chores, especially those who have elderly parents and are sick.” – January 22, 2022.