KUCHING: The reported decline in Indonesian workers coming to Malaysia is not expected to pose a major issue for Sarawak.
Responding to concerns raised by the Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia, Datuk Indera Hermono, Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, stressed that the matter should be handled through government-to-government (G2G) discussions.
“That is their view from the other side. As far as we are concerned, we have no major issue with this.
“It is something that can be brought to the table through G2G discussions,” he told a press conference for the upcoming 23rd World Veterinary Poultry Association Congress (WVPAC) 2025 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching today.
Dr Rundi said Indonesia, like Malaysia, has pressing domestic concerns to manage.
“They need to look after their own situation, just as we must look after ours. From our perspective, this is something that can be managed,” he said.
Earlier, Hermono said Malaysia is expected to face a decline in labour supply from Indonesia, particularly in the construction sector, as more Indonesians are drawn to work in other countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
He said there is a downward trend being observed of Indonesians coming to Malaysia, with the latest data showing 543,000 workers compared to 591,000 last year.
Malaysia is no longer seen as an “attractive” destination for Indonesian workers, as they are able to earn better wages in other countries, he added.
According to him, based on data from January 1 to September 4 this year, the demand for domestic workers (maids) and in formal sectors remains high, but the number of contracts executed has decreased.
“For the domestic sector, there were 22,651 requests within nine months, but only 6,506 contracts were carried out. For the formal sector, including plantations, there were 11,394 requests, while contracts involved only 9,106,” he said.
“So, in my estimation, the number of Indonesian workers in Malaysia will not increase, but will instead continue to decline. If we look at the trend, in the past six months, the number of documented workers has gone down.
“Not only that, those who have completed their two-year contracts here are not interested in continuing, choosing instead to return to Indonesia or migrate to other countries,” he said recently.
