Officials from Malaysia and Indonesia signed an agreement today on the placement and protection of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia during a meeting that included Indonesia's president and Malaysia's prime minister, reports The Independent. The memorandum of understanding, signed by Malaysian Human Resources Minister Saravanan Murugan and Indonesian Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah, outlines the ‘One Channel System’, which regulates the entire process of recruiting, placing and repatriating Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. Indonesian migrant workers have contributed a lot to economic development in Malaysia," Indonesian President Joko Widodo said. “So it is only natural that they get maximum rights and protection from our two countries.”

Indonesia’s population of over 270 million has created a surplus of workers, and Malaysia is one of the main destination countries for them. According to the National Board for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers, more than 79,000 Indonesian migrant workers recorded work assignments in Malaysia in 2019. The number decreased in 2020 and 2021.