BUKIT BERUNTUNG: The first batch of Indonesian maids have arrived but this is not paving the way for more to come in droves anytime soon.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said two issues were preventing the “inflow” – lower fees paid to Indonesian agencies and better salaries offered by other countries.

“The Indonesian agencies feel the fees set by the Government are too low. On the other hand, the maids prefer to go to countries like Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea for higher salaries,’’ he said after presenting certificates to 60 participants involved in a special programme for Indian entrepreneurs here yesterday.

The first batch of 29 Indonesian domestic workers arrived in the country on June 2 following a moratorium imposed by the Indonesian government in June 2009.

Dr Subramaniam said Malaysian agencies were liaising with their Indonesian counterparts to overcome the bottleneck.

“I have told them (Malaysian agents) to come up with whatever proposals they have to get things moving again,’’ he added.

Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) president Jeffrey Foo cited increased red tape in the recruitment process as another cause of the slow intake of maids.

He said the recruitment procedure was now even more complex.

“Some maid agencies have gone out of business because they cannot cope with all the new requirements,” Foo said.

He believed the slowdown was also due to the coming Hari Raya, as Indonesians domestic workers preferred to stay back during this period.

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