PM Anwar Ibrahim's Visit: Not Willing About Salaries, Indonesian Migrant Workers In Malaysia Also Must Be Protected

Malaysian PM, Anwar Ibrahim when meeting President Jokowi at the Bogor Palace on a visit on January 9, 2023. (BPMI Setpres/Muchlis Jr)

JAKARTA - The desire to get a better wage. This reason usually encourages a person to prefer to become a migrant worker, complain about the fate of working abroad. Wage as a household assistant, for example in Malaysia, ranges from IDR 4.5 million to IDR 5 million per month clean without deductions.

This figure is certainly much greater than the wages of household assistants in Indonesia in general.

Although it seems that it gives financial hope, it does not mean that working abroad is more comfortable. Many problems overshadow Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI).

Not only about fraudulent labor agents, data from the Indonesian National Agency for Placement and Protection of Manpower (BNP2TKI) states that PMIs usually also experience arbitrary acts such as unilateral layoffs, persecution, sexual harassment, and work that do not comply with the agreement.

In an effort to protect foreign exchange heroes, the government has repeatedly conducted in-depth negotiations with a number of countries, especially Malaysia, which is still the main goal of Indonesian migrant workers.

The number of PMIs in Malaysia in the last 10 years has never been less than 1.5 million workers. Even though it had decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Bank Indonesia data, the number of PMIs in March 2022 still reached 1.63 million workers.

The Indonesian Minister of Manpower, Ida Fauziyah and then Minister of Human Resources of Malaysia, Saravanan Murugan, on April 1, 2022, signed a memorandum of understanding in improving the governance of placement and protection for PMI.

"In general, the main principle agreed upon by the two governments in this MoU is to ensure better protection for PMI in the domestic sector, especially in ensuring the fulfillment of PMI rights that work in Malaysia through an integrated system that we call a system for the placement of one channel or one channel system," said Ida in an official statement on April 1, 2022.

According to Ida, the system will integrate the entire placement process starting from recruitment, preparation, departure, placement, to return home. The system will connect ministries and institutions in Indonesia with relevant authorities in Malaysia. Thus, making it easier for the two countries to supervise and reduce the cost of recruiting and placing PMIs in Malaysia.

"There is no longer direct hiring, but all the placement of Domestic PMIs to Malaysia through Indonesian and Malaysian recruitment agencies is registered in an integrated system," he said.

Direct hiring or it can also be called re-entry hiring is a mechanism for extending the work contract between PMI and the same employer without going through the agency or services of the Implementing Private TKI Placement (PPTKIS) in Indonesia.

In addition, a memorandum of understanding regulates placement governance. For example, PMI will only work in one place/house, PMI with the position of homekeeper and family cook or can be called household assistant, work for employers with a maximum number of families of six people in one place or home, and PMI works according to the description of the work.

Also regulates the rights of workers, such as PMI is included in the Malaysian labor insurance scheme for foreign workers and health insurance in force in Malaysia, with premium costs borne by employers. Also, the determination of the monthly minimum wage for PMI is 1,500 Malaysian ringgit or equivalent to Rp. 5.10 million (exchange rate of Rp. 3,400).

The practice is still not as expected. Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia, Hermono found indications of violations by the Malaysian immigration authorities who still use an online recruitment system, not through a one channel system.

Taking direct placement of migrant workers without going through intermediaries so that the position of migrant workers is not monitored and more vulnerable to exploitation.

Hermono, in July 2022, immediately gave a recommendation to the central government to temporarily suspend the placement of PMIs in Malaysia.

Channel News Asia on July 13, 2022, wrote that the temporary suspension of PMI shipments was a major blow to Malaysia, which is the world's second-largest palm oil producer and the main chain in the global supply chain. Because, with the suspension, Malaysia is threatened with a shortage of workers who could thwart its economic recovery.

Now, conditions are harmonious again. When meeting the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at the Bogor Palace on January 9, the Prime Minister, Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim stated his commitment to provide protection for PMI.

Anwar does not want labor problems to break the relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia, which has actually been around for a long time.

"So we God willing, we will avoid issues that can be resolved because I want Indonesia-Malaysia relations to be more special," said Anwar when giving a press statement with Jokowi.

Jokowi also welcomed Anwar Ibrahim's commitment to providing protection for Indonesian migrant workers. Jokowi hopes that the implementation of the channel system (OCS) can run well.

I really hope that one channel system for the recruitment and placement of Indonesian migrant workers can really be carried out together. And earlier I repeated my request regarding the importance of building a community learning center on the Peninsula to fulfill the educational rights of Indonesian migrant workers," said President Jokowi.