Indonesia Sends Workers To Malaysia Again Starting August 1, KSP: Needs Strict Monitoring

JAKARTA - The Main Expert Staff of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Fadjar Dwi Wisnuwardhani emphasized that the relocation of Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) in Malaysia needs to be closely monitored.

He reminded them to stick to the commitments of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries which were signed on April 1 and July 28, 2022.

"Supervision is important to do, so that uncertainty in the form of closing the resettlement in the future can be avoided," said Fadjar in a written statement, quoted from Antara, Sunday, July 31.

The Governments of Indonesia and Malaysia have signed a joint statement regarding the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers in the Domestic Sector in Malaysia.

The signing was carried out by the Indonesian Minister of Manpower (Menaker) Ida Fauziyah and the Malaysian Minister of Human Resources Dato' Sri M Saravanan Murugan on Thursday 28 July, following the 1st joint working group (JWG) meeting.

The signing reaffirms the agreement between the two countries to open recruitment and placement of PMIs in Malaysia starting August 1, 2022.

Fadjar emphasized the importance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Manpower and the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI) to closely monitor the implementation of the MoU.

"KSP also encourages that the decision to open this placement be communicated to various parties in the country, both to the government and non-government parties, especially to PMI candidates who will go to Malaysia," he said.

Fadjar said the MoU also contained several other important points, such as an agreement on the use of the One Channel System (OCS) or the One Channel Placement System (SPSK) as the only PMI recruitment system in Malaysia, integrating OCS with the existing recruitment system with a preparation period. for three weeks, involving various institutions, ministries, and related institutions in the implementation of OCS, as well as prohibiting PMI recruitment outside the OCS system and mechanism.

In addition, said Fadjar, the Governments of Indonesia and Malaysia are also committed to bilateral cooperation to fight the Crime of Trafficking in Persons (TPPO).

"In this regard, KSP encourages the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to accelerate a special MoU on the prevention of TIP, especially PMI with the Malaysian side to increase protection," said Fadjar.

On that occasion, Fadjar also asked BP2MI to speed up the service, education, and socialization process for BP2MI Regulation Number 7 of 2022 regarding the process before working for CPMI.

Previously, since July 13, 2022, the Indonesian Government suspended the placement of PMIs in Malaysia, due to Malaysia's violation of the MoU on the Placement and Protection of PMIs in the Malaysian Domestic Sector which was agreed and signed on April 1, 2022.

The MoU contains a stipulation that PMI placement is only done through SPSK or One Channel System. However, after the signing of the MoU, it turned out that Malaysia was still using a system outside the SPSK, namely the Online Maid System (SMO).

The system places migrant workers directly by converting visit visas into work visas, including for workers from Indonesia.