KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — Putrajaya should give a breakdown of what it will cost Malaysians to hire domestic help from Indonesia, Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto said today ahead of the signing of a new bilateral deal.

The Opposition lawmaker noted that the rate given by the ministry was at odds with market figures and asked for assurances that the new prices won’t skyrocket once the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on domestic help is signed with Indonesia on April 1.

She said the hiring amount as given by the Deputy Minister for Human Resources Datuk Awang Hashim in his parliamentary reply to her was RM7,800, pointing out that it is way below the market price which is around RM15,000 to RM20,000 per helper.

"Word on the streets is that the cost of hiring a domestic helper from Indonesia will now cost RM15,000 according to the President of the Association of Employment Agencies, Datuk Foo Yong Hooi, citing that there was no way RM7,800 was an amount that they can work with. He too was thoroughly shocked to have read the amount of RM7,800 as the cost for hiring domestic helpers from Indonesia.

"By now, the general mood is that this amount is bound to skyrocket up to RM30,000 as cited by some agencies — and Malaysians are not surprised at this amount although sorely disappointed,” she said in a statement.

On March 23, Awang said there was no price cap on hiring of Indonesian domestic helpers but also said that the previous MoU signed in 2016 had a maximum recruitment fee of RM7,800 with RM6,000 paid by the employer and rest by the worker.

Kasthuri said that in practice, employment agencies have tended to increase the prices.

She said this was because of a lack of transparency on the amount and who takes a cut from it.

She added that this was the main problem with the lack of price regulation.

"I believe this is the crux of the issue here. The transparency of the amount set as the cost of hiring a domestic helper and who gets a slice of the pie and who goes home with crumbs.

"In a time and age where there is a lack of affordable childcare for working adults, Malaysians are dependent on domestic helpers in their day-to-day lives and the move to open up the hiring of domestic helpers is genuinely welcomed by all but there has to be a mechanism in place to monitor or report maid agencies who violate the MoU in hiring domestic helpers and also to prevent domestic helpers to be victims of trafficking, slavery and abuse,” she added.

The MoU with Indonesia has been postponed several times affecting the manufacturing and palm oil sector during the pandemic.

Industry players have been counting down to April 1, hoping for an economic reset when the government officially announces the country’s start of its transition to Covid-19 endemicity.