Association Warns of Potential Monopoly After PMI Agreement with Malaysia

TheIndonesia.id - The Association of Labor Recruitment Companies (Himsataki) has warned the government of a potential monopoly after Indonesia and Malaysia signed an agreement on one-door system for the recruitment and placement of Indonesian migrant workers, or PMI, to Malaysia.

Chairman of Himsataki’s advisory board M Hasan Bajamal said while the association appreciated that PMI placement to Malaysia will soon officially reopen, the bilateral agreement with Malaysia might create a monopolistic system and only benefit certain entities.

“We appreciate the reopening of placement to Malaysia through one-door system, but we’d like to remind [the government] not to create policy or system that benefits one group and harms the other – which will hurt healthy competition in business that’s regulated by law,” Bajamal said on Friday, April 8, as reported by Antara.

As previously reported, on April 1, during the visit of Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob in Jakarta, Indonesia’s Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah and her Malaysian counterpart Saravanan Murugan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which regulates the placement, monitoring, and repatriation of PMI through one channel.

While admitting that the system will advance protection and placement process, Bajamal said the one-door system shouldn’t hinder each and every recruitment company from participating in the business.

“The government should provide facilities, regulations, and rules to recruitment companies, so any of them that have obtained permit and are working in accordance to those guidelines can send migrant workers to Malaysia,” he added.

Minister Fauziyah has revealed that under the agreement systems owned by Indonesia and Malaysia will be integrated, and placement can only be carried out by companies and agencies that are registered in the system.