The Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta governments have shelved plans to sign an agreement governing the recruitment of Indonesian maids in Malaysia, reports said today.

Human Resources Minister Fong Chan Onn was quoted as saying the plan had been postponed indefinitely due to disputes over the agreement's details.

"We should not be rushed into signing an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) on maids. We need to hold more discussions before committing to the MoU," he said, according to The Star newspaper.

The MoU was proposed after Malaysia was shocked by its worst case of maid abuse, where 19-year-old Indonesian maid Nirmala Bonet was burnt and beaten by a wealthy housewife who is now facing trial.

It prompted Indonesia to submit a draft agreement seeking recruitment only through legal agencies in Indonesia who would be entrusted to train the maids, the reports said.

In return, Malaysia wants Indonesia to set up a centre overseeing the employment of maids to prevent false documentation and false declaration of age, which has led to many underage maids entering the country.

Low wages

The New Straits Times said Kuala Lumpur had objected to Indonesia's insistence that recruiting agents be allowed to bring in maids regardless of their background and experience.

The maids have also complained of low wages in Malaysia compared to those in neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Brunei.

Malaysia is the second largest employer of Indonesian maids after Saudi Arabia. Of the 240,000 foreign maids in the country, almost 230,000 are from Indonesia, 6,000 from the Philippines and the rest from Cambodia and Sri Lanka, according to government statistics.

The US-based Human Rights Watch in a report in July urged both Indonesia and Malaysia to reform their labour laws to protect the rights of Indonesian maids abused and exploited by their employers and labor agencies.