Indonesia to halt sending workers to Malaysia

The move, which will take effect Friday, followed a series of allegations made by Indonesian maids that they have been physically abused by their employers in the neighbouring country.

In the latest case, a 33-year-old Indonesian maid escaped from her employer, complaining that she had been beaten and scalded with hot water. She said the employer also withheld her wages.

"Starting tomorrow we will stop sending maids to Malaysia temporarily," Manpower Minister Erman Soeparno was quoted as saying by the Detik.com news website.

He said labour agencies had been notified of the decision.

Indonesian and Malaysian officials will meet early next month to discuss ways to protect migrant workers from abuse, the minister said.

The Malaysian government announced earlier this month that it would soon make it compulsory for employers to give their maids one day off per a week, or face a fine of up to 10,000 ringgit (2,700 dollars).

Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam said the day off would give maids an opportunity to report any form of abuse.

Malaysia has some 320,000 foreign maids legally working in the country. Almost 85 per cent are from Indonesia, followed by the Philippines and other South-East Asian countries.

Indonesians also make up the bulk of the tens of thousands of maids who work in the country illegally. --DPA, 25/06/2009