PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to set up a coordinating body to handle administrative issues regarding the employment of Indonesian workers.

Registered employment agencies will in future have to go through this committee.

They will have to satisfy the committee that the worker was being matched with the right employer before being allowed to recruit them.

This, Indonesian Manpower and Transmigration Minister Dr Erman Suparno said, would not only ensure that the Indonesian workforce was protected but it would also allow the authorities to monitor their welfare.

“This committee will comprise not only officials from both labour ministries but also the Malaysian and Indonesian police,” he said.

Met after a meeting with Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramanian, Erman said he had outlined concerns that would be further discussed before both countries signed a memorandum of understanding on July 15 in Bali.

The concerns and requests include allowing Indonesian workers to:

• be given a weekly day off,
• be paid wages promptly,
• be given the right to vote in Indonesia’s elections,
• be allowed to hold on to their passports, and
• be assured of health and security protection.

Erman said Indonesia also wanted Malaysia to mete out severe punishment on employers who employed illegal Indonesians.