Malaysia to accept more maids from Cambodia, says PM Najib

Previously Malaysian demand for domestic workers was met by an influx of Indonesian migrant workers.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has said his government will allow more Cambodian domestic maids to work in the country.

Najib said Cambodia has expressed interest to send more people to work in Malaysia.

"We have accepted the offer and particularly in the field of domestic maids, so we will engage with the Cambodian government to allow more Cambodians to work as maids in this country," Najib said at a joint press conference with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen, Bernama reported.

The Cambodian prime minister is in Malaysia on an official trip and will attend the just-concluded World Economic Forum on Asean.

Earlier, the Southeast Asian leaders signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and Cambodia on the International Volunteers Programme of MyCorps in Cambodia, an MoU between Malaysia and Cambodia on Information and Broadcasting Cooperation, and a Letter of Intent between the two governments on agricultural cooperation.

There is increasing demand for domestic helpers in Malaysia and the country is striving hard to cope with decreasing supply of domestic helpers.

Previously Malaysian demand for domestic workers was met by an influx of Indonesian migrant workers. But after a number of cases of abuse at the hands of foreign employers, Jakarta tightened its rules and regulations on sending people to work abroad.

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