June 4, 2026 | 07:27 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan has expressed interest in his country's intention to expand the placement of Indonesian workers, particularly in the healthcare sector. This proposal was discussed during a bilateral meeting with the Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono at the Pancasila Building, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, on Thursday, 4 June 2026.According to Mohamad, Indonesia has proposed expanding employment opportunities for its workers in Malaysia beyond existing sectors. One of the sectors discussed is nursing."There is also a suggestion from Indonesia for us to ensure that workers or labor from Indonesia are expanded beyond the existing sectors, especially in the nursing sector and others," he said.He said that the Malaysian government would discuss this proposal further. However, decisions regarding the addition of foreign workers, including healthcare workers, fall under the authority of technical ministries and not the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs."We will discuss it at our level because it is beyond the scope of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It falls under the Ministry of Health," he said.Deemed Beneficial to the Malaysian Healthcare IndustryMohamad considers the proposal to expand employment for Indonesian nurses to be a good idea. He believes that the presence of Indonesian healthcare workers has the potential to benefit the Malaysian healthcare sector as a whole."But I am confident that it is a good proposal for our benefit as well as for the benefit of the entire Malaysian healthcare industry," he said.He stated that discussions regarding the proposal will be carried out with the Malaysian Ministry of Health as the management of healthcare workers falls under the authority of that ministry.Indonesia-Malaysia Bilateral CooperationMohamad made this statement after attending the 17th Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) between Indonesia and Malaysia held in Jakarta. The forum is a bilateral consultation mechanism through which the two countries discuss various strategic cooperation issues.The 17th JCBC also follows up on the 13th Annual Consultation between the President of Indonesia and the Prime Minister of Malaysia held in Jakarta in July 2025. In addition to discussing ways to strengthen economic cooperation, the forum will address border issues, cross-border trade, security, food security, energy, and other bilateral concerns.Read: Indonesia, Malaysia Agree to Bolster Ties at 17th JCBC DialogueClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News