Malaysians, here's how to hire a maid yourself
New Straits Times30 October 2017
KUALA LUMPUR: Thousands of Malaysian hopefuls, who wish to secure help at home, have begun sourcing for foreign maids themselves, although most have yet to make any inroads. Scores have gone online, asking for contacts and how to go about getting one the minute Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced on Friday that they were free to recruit maids directly from nine countries.
Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said the policy was to ensure that the process of hiring foreign domestic helpers was made easier and more affordable. “The people now have the choice of either going through agents or doing it themselves. “They can go to the source country and find the worker, and then register the worker with the Immigration’s online service, as announced by the prime minister. If the employers want to go through agents, it is up to them,” he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
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Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali says people now have the choice of either going through agents or hiring a maid themselves. Pic by FARIZ ISWADI ISMAIL
Mustafar said although the levy and processing fees remained, the new option would allow employers to save on agency costs. He said the department had a lengthy discussion with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also home minister, on the matter.
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Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali says people now have the choice of either going through agents or hiring a maid themselves. Pic by FARIZ ISWADI ISMAIL
Mustafar said although the levy and processing fees remained, the new option would allow employers to save on agency costs. He said the department had a lengthy discussion with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also home minister, on the matter.
The government, he said, was aware that it could cost Malaysians between RM12,000 and RM18,000 to hire maids through employment agencies. “We agreed that the people could always go to the source country and we discussed ways to make the processes easier and cheaper.
The charges remain as before, just that there are no payments to be made to agents,” he said. Thousands of Malaysian households gave a thumbs-up to the prime minister for allowing them to hire foreign domestic helpers directly. Najib gave his commitment that the government would review the cost of hiring foreign domestic helpers, with a view of reducing it in the future. Malaysian employers had been shunning maid agencies for the exorbitant prices they imposed. It is understood that the new allowance for hiring maids is similar to a past system involving papers referred to as the “Journey Perform Visa”.
This category serves to legally allow those travelling on a social visit visa to join the foreign labour market here. This “conversion” process must be done within a month and the worker must first be certified medically fit for employment. There is, however, an issue that Malaysian employers may need to consider
