YOURSAY | Indonesia’s freeze on sending workers – long time coming

YOURSAY | ‘A few black sheep employers have tarnished the country's reputation.’

Indonesia announces temporary freeze on migrant workers for M'sia

BobbyO: All around us, people in positions of power are looking for ways to make fast money. Due to their greed, the nation is losing billions that it can ill-afford.

It is a shame that today our nation's reputation is in tatters. Nobody seems to care.

Our goods are confiscated because we treat our workers like slaves by making them work long hours and giving them sleeping quarters that are seriously questionable.

Now, they are trying to bring in maids from Indonesia under dubious means. At the same time, they expose these maids to the danger of unscrupulous employers.

Nations around us have woken up. Their leaders and officials in charge of their safety would no longer tolerate their citizens being exploited.

But our leaders who still seem to have a lackadaisical attitude concerning these situations are either sleeping on the job or are not interested in giving up their source of easy illegal income.

Max Fury: Aiyoh! Just get on with it and accede to Indonesia’s demand. It is not rocket science.

Our businesses are suffering without foreign labour and our Home Ministry, Immigration Department and the Human Resources Ministry are playing footsie with each other.

Even our prime minister doesn’t seem to have any clout to push this through. Sometimes one wonders who is the real boss in this country.

Sealthedeal: It was expected. Corruption involving immigration is big business. This leads to bonded labour.

The fact that the Immigration Department is unable to put a stop to the Maid Online System (MOS) means that migrant worker abuse is ongoing. The government should ensure the site is taken down immediately.

It's a pity Malaysia does not have ministers of the calibre of Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia Hermano.

He cares about migrant workers from his country. Our Immigration Department, on the other hand, appears to help facilitate abuse.

BrownMarlin8619: The issue raised by ambassador Hermano seems valid. A few black sheep employers have tarnished the country's reputation.

The MOS system serves the needs of the middle class when it comes to cutting costs. The issue that needs to be addressed is strict enforcement and heavy punishment of employers who abuse their domestic help.

Gulengtu: I am a Malaysian and am proud of the action taken by Hermano to protect their exploited Indonesian workers.

However, I am ashamed to read all the irregularities highlighted in the use of MOS as a channel to facilitate trafficking and forced labour. Shame on you Malaysia!

IQ900: Malaysian employers are well known for their inhuman treatment of migrant workers. They forcefully keep their passports, underpay them, provide unfit human accommodation, force them to work long hours, beat them and provide no medical care.

Migrant workers are treated like cattle in this country. It is also well known that human trafficking in Malaysia is rampant.

Mushiro: Indonesia wants to do it right but Malaysia wants loopholes so that syndicates can make huge money smuggling in Indonesian workers.

The factories and domestic market are now left starved of workers and the country will lose millions.

Dino: Indonesia is no longer the country it once was. They are more confident and much more progressive than Malaysia.

They are part of the G20. Malaysia had better learn to deal with these changes and treat them with respect.

Fair Play: Indeed, moving forward, Indonesia would need all the humanpower that is available to develop Kalimantan where their new capital city of Nusantara will be built.

Malaysia's economic growth would be severely hampered by the shortage of skilled (low standard of education) and unskilled (import from foreign countries) labour.

Just A Malaysian: Malaysia needs labour desperately to power our economic recovery. What is so complicated about this? Don't the prime minister and his bloated cabinet knows what is critical and what is not?

This is the time to save this country from becoming Sri Lanka. What is wrong with our government?

Quo Vadis Malaysia: Human Resource Minister M Saravanan and Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin are currently the worst performing ministers.

They are in charge of portfolios that have an important impact on the country's economic recovery. They need to be held accountable.

Iphonezours: What a shameful day for the Malaysian government when it cannot honour its commitment despite the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia on the recruitment and protection of Indonesian domestic workers.

This freezing of recruitment will have an impact on some of Malaysia’s economic sectors. but Indonesia did the right thing to protect the rights of its citizens.

Vijay47: Ouch! That was another hard slap from Indonesia. In the last couple of years, Jakarta has shown clearly that it will not take any more rubbish.

Then, suddenly this week, the Sulu sultanate laid claim to some of our assets. Beware the Ides of July. The worm has turned and next will be Papua New Guinea.

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