M'SIA STILL WAITING FOR INDONESIA TO END FREEZE ON SENDING MAIDS

BATU KAWAN (Malaysia), Sept 8 (Bernama) -- The government is still waiting
for Indonesia to end the freeze on sending maids to Malaysia, said Human
Resource Minister Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said athough the memorandum of understanding (MoU) to lift the freeze was
signed by both countries at the end of May this year, Indonesia had yet to
implement it.

"I had signed the MoU for Malaysia in Jakarta while Indonesia was
represented by my counterpart Muhaimin Iskandar, with Indonesia agreeing to end
the freeze on sending maids here (to Malaysia)."

Dr Subramaniam was speaking at a press conference after announcing an
allocation of RM1.7 million (US$570,134) for the building of a new block for
Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (SJK) Tamil Ladang Batu Kawan (a vernacular schools)
here, Thursday.

Batu Kawan is an island with a small town in the area of northern Penang
state in Peninsular Malaysia. The island is situated off Seberang Perai, which
is on the mainland.

He said his ministry did not know the reason for the delay in lifting the
freeze by the Indonesian government although the MoU was signed three months
ago.


Among the conditions agreed upon in the MoU are that Malaysian employers are
guaranteed of getting a replacement maid or compensation on the deposit from the
employment agency involved if the maid runs away, is inefficient or fails the
medical test within six months.

Agreement was also reached on the salary for maids which should be
determined by the current market situation, but the Indonesian government will
ensure that the salary offered by Malaysian employers is not less than the
minimum salary in Indonesia.


-- BERNAMA