First group of Indonesian workers already in the country, says minister

Indonesian workers have started to progressively enter Malaysia following the decision by the neighbouring country to lift the restrictions on its workforce effective Aug 1. 

Human Resources Minister M Saravanan said the first batch of Indonesian workers was already in Malaysia and that papers for another 23,000 workers were being processed.

"The workers have already started coming in. The first batch is in," he said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur. 

On July 13, Indonesia announced its decision to temporarily freeze the entry of all workers into Malaysia for not using the single system as previously agreed.

Both countries have since agreed to integrate the existing systems for the intake of domestic workers between the Malaysian Immigration Department and the Indonesian embassy.

On Malaysia’s workforce, Saravanan said the issue was not unemployment but mismatched job placements.

"Even though we get them (graduates) the job, they are not given a job in their field of study," he said.