KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesia has called on all their migrant workers to follow the proper procedures should they want to be employed in any foreign countries including Malaysia.
The Republic's Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah said they are closely monitoring this issue and had even stopped those who intended to work through improper channels at the country's immigration checks.
She had also requested assistance from Malaysia to not allow employers to employ workers who did not go through the proper employment channels.
"We monitor this issue very seriously and we call for Indonesians who intend to work overseas including in Malaysia to go through the proper channels as it is also a form of protection.
"We are stopping them even at our immigration gates.
"We also hope that Malaysian authorities would not give any space for employers to employ Indonesian migrant workers without the proper procedure," she told reporters during an unofficial visit to Kuala Lumpur last night organised by the National Association of Human Resources (Pusma).
Ida hopes that issues involving employers and migrant workers would be resolved properly.
"I believe that if employees are treated well, the employer's productivity will also improve. We will continue to establish a close relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia.
"We in Indonesia will continue to improve governance. If we work together, the best protection will be given to migrant workers," she said.
Earlier in her opening speech, Ida, citing statistics from the Malaysian Immigration Department, said there were 444,741 Indonesians with Temporary Employment Visit Passes working in Malaysia.
"This year, we have approved 74,570 Indonesians seeking employment in Malaysia in the formal sector and 55,378 in the informal sector.
"In an effort to enhance the employment process, the Indonesian government has developed a digital labour ecosystem known as Siapkerja to streamline the employment process, both domestically and internationally," she said.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Envoy, Hermono, in his speech said he hopes that stakeholders in Indonesia and Malaysia would work together to solve any migrant worker-related issues so that the relationship between the two countries are not affected.
He said our failure to properly manage migrant workers will affect the relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia, thus causing tension and conflict between the countries.
"The problem of labour from Indonesia to Malaysia is always a priority. They are human beings who need to be treated more carefully, more humanely and their welfare also needs to be looked after, unlike exported goods where the 'relationship' stops after payment is made.
"Their rights need to be protected. Until today I still receive reports of migrant workers not being well protected...
"I myself am dealing with a case involving an employer who has an honourable title but has not paid wages for 19 years. We are fighting in court... this is unacceptable," he said, adding that he has also dealt with cases of migrant worker abuse from those with the title of "Tan Sri" and " Datuk Sri".
The event hosted by Pusma was attended by 50 major Malaysian employers of migrant labourers, 80 registered Malaysia recruitment agencies and 30 Indonesian-registered recruitment agencies.
The gathering featured representatives from the association of recruitment agencies and the Indonesian Manpower Services Association (Apjati).