Malaysia Says No Draft Agreement on Maids Yet
Malaysia has not yet received a draft agreement aimed at protecting Cambodian migrant domestic workers from abuse, but the government is pressing Cambodia to lift its two-year moratorium on sending maids, a Malaysian official said Wednesday. In October 2011, Prime Minister Hun Sen imposed a ban on sending domestic workers to Malaysia following recurring reports of serious abuse and exploitation of female Cambodian workers by their Malaysian employers and unscrupulous Cambodian recruitment agencies. On Monday, Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told state news agency Bernama that Cambodia will start sending 1,000 women a month as soon as a long-awaited memorandum of understanding (MoU) is signed by the two governments in “a few months’ time.” Clarifying the minister’s statements, his press secretary, Fadzlette Othman Merican, said Wednesday that Cambodia has not shown Malaysia a draft MoU, but the government was eager to restart the trade. … But Hou Vuthy, secretary of state at the Cambodian Ministry of Labor, said Wednesday Cambodia is waiting for the Malaysian government to send the draft back with comments. “The MoU draft, Cambodia sent to Malaysia to review recently. Right now, the Cambodian government is waiting for the draft to be sent back,” Mr. Vuthy said. He declined to comment when asked about Ms. Merican’s statement.
Dene-Hern Chen and Eang Mengleng
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/malaysia-says-no-draft-agreement-on-maids-yet-46399/
