KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — The "misunderstanding” over Malaysia’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indonesia will be resolved soon to end the republic’s suspension on sending workers here, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said today.

Describing the issue as a result of a "communications breakdown”, Hamzah said discussions between his ministry and the Human Resources Ministry to resolve the matter have already begun.

However, Hamzah asserted that the "problem” should have been addressed privately among the officials of both countries and not publicised in the media.

"This is to iron out all misunderstandings (between Malaysia and Indonesia).

"It is my pleasure to remind all that the government will continue to ensure the management of foreign workers in Malaysia is always in accordance with the rule of law and their rights always guaranteed,” he told a press conference after chairing a committee meeting between both ministries on the management of foreign workers at Bukit Aman here.

Previously, it was reported that Indonesia has stopped sending its citizens to work in Malaysia beginning yesterday, after Malaysia’s immigration authorities continued using the Maid Online System (SMO), even though both countries agreed to use only the One Channel System (OCS) through an MoU.

Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Hermono was reported to have said that the MoU was not respected, as Malaysia failed to comply and thus breached the terms of the agreement.

When asked when discussions with Indonesia would take place, Hamzah assured that talks were already underway and some "fine-tuning” were still required before any official announcements could be made.

On Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob instructed both ministries to resolve the matter, adding that prolonging the matter would invite problems between the two South-east Asian countries.