Deal to bring in Cambodian maids on hold pending meeting with ministry: Papa

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) has put on hold its plan to bring in domestic workers from Cambodia following Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot's remark that he was not informed of the plan.
Under an agreement it signed with the Cambodian government, Papa was supposed to bring in 20,000 Cambodian domestic workers a year, with the first batch scheduled to arrive in March next year.
Papa president Jeffrey Foo told Nanyang Siang Pau in a report published yesterday that he did not foresee any problem with the agreement although it was not a government-to-government contract.
Nevertheless, he said, Papa has decided to put the plan on hold while it awaits arrangements for a meeting to present a detailed report to the Human Resources Ministry.
"The Human Resources Ministry has yet to contact us for a meeting. We are awaiting an official letter from the authority. Papa will present a detailed report (on the agreement) to the ministry and find out if there is any objection to the plan," said Foo.
Stressing that the association is not only concerned about the industry's survival but also wants to ensure the interest of foreign domestic workers are protected, he said Papa will definitely not do anything against the law.
Conditions laid out in the agreement, signed last month between Papa and the Cambodian government to supply of domestic workers to help address the acute shortage of maids in Malaysia, include the supply of a smartphone containing the contact numbers of the Cambodian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, (foreign domestic workers) help centre and maid agencies; opening a bank account for the maid; and paying these workers a fair and reasonable salary.
Richard, who has told a local English daily that he got to know about the plan only after reading it in news reports, said he will find out more from the ministry's officials, including its secretary-general, before making a statement on the matter.