Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian and Malaysian governments have signed a joint statement regarding the implementation of a memorandum of understanding on the placement and protection of Indonesian migrant workers in the domestic sector in Malaysia and plans to reopen placements to the "Neighbor Country" in August 2022.
According to a written statement from the Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker). ) received in Jakarta, Thursday, the signing was carried out by the Minister of Manpower (Menaker) Ida Fauziyah and Malaysian Minister of Human Resources Dato' Sri M. Saravanan Murugan in Jakarta today after the 1st Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting.
"Both parties agreed to resume recruitment and placement of PMIs in Malaysia from August 1, 2022, depending on the effectiveness of the implementation of the commitments made in the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding)," said the Minister of Manpower Ida.
He said the JWG Forum acknowledged that there were a number of implementation issues in terms of policies and technicalities that might affect the implementation of the memorandum of understanding signed in April 2022.
Therefore, it was mutually agreed on the steps needed to ensure comprehensive implementation, especially for the placement of one channel or One Channel System (OCS).
He stated that Indonesia-Malaysia agreed and reiterated that OCS would be the only mechanism for recruitment and placement of PMIs in Malaysia by integrating the online system managed by the Indonesian representative in Malaysia and the online system managed by the Malaysian Immigration Department.
This is done in full compliance with the agreed terms and conditions as stipulated in the memorandum of understanding.
Pilot projects also need to be carried out and should be implemented three months before the full implementation of the OCS system to ensure smooth application of the integrated system.
According to him, both parties agreed to take all necessary steps to ensure agreed norms and procedures, as stipulated in the memorandum of understanding, are fully complied with by all parties by involving relevant institutions/departments in their respective governments.
Indonesia and Malaysia also recognize the importance of fighting trafficking in persons and are committed to involving relevant stakeholders in their respective countries in order to establish real bilateral cooperation.
"Both parties are also committed to facilitating cooperation between social security institutions in Malaysia and Indonesia in order to strengthen protection for Indonesian migrant workers," said Ida Fauziyah.