Direct hire of maids cuts cost and saves time, says Mama

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian Maid Employers Association (Mama) welcomes the announcement made during Budget 2018 allowing Malaysians to obtain foreign domestic helpers directly from nine source countries.
Its president Engku Fauzi Engku Mohsen said this was indeed very good news.
"We hope that the policy will be here for the long run. It is a good change. By allowing employers to hire maids without going through agents, this would save a lot of time and money. Almost half of the total cost can be saved," he told theSun.
He added that while it takes some time to learn the procedures to do the application, it should not be too difficult as it would be available online as well.
"Even the application can be done online instead of waiting in line and going through it with agents. There are other countries that is already doing this like Singapore. This is the digital age. It is about time we did it as well," he said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said that government is aware of the high cost incurred in hiring foreign domestic helpers and is trying to reduce the cost.
"For a start, the government will allow employers to hire foreign domestic helpers from nine selected countries directly without any agents. Subsequently, employers may apply for foreign domestic helpers' visa via online from the Immigration Department of Malaysia with the current levy and processing fees," Najib said in the Budget 2018 announcement.