BE PREPARED to dig deeper into your pockets for an Indonesian maid.

Sin Chew Daily quoted Indonesia's Ambassador to Malaysia Dai Bachtiar as saying that the minimum pay would be set at RM600 a month with the move to be implemented in September.

Dai Bachtiar had, in an exclusive interview, said this was still lower than what Indonesian maids in other countries were paid.

Indonesian maids in Saudi Arabia draw a monthly salary of RM900, while their counterparts in Hong Kong earn RM1,300 a month and get a day off each week.

Currently there are 10,000 Indonesian maids in Hong Kong, and some 30,000 in Malaysia. -The Star/ANN