The former International Affairs Division head of the Immigration Department, CR Selva, believes the Maid Online System (SMO) may have been mooted with good intentions, but owing to having many inbuilt loopholes, the system was being abused widely and ended up facilitating human trafficking.

Yesterday Malaysiakini reported on an agency worker who found herself having to strip-search and photograph innocent, would-be domestic workers so that the agency would have substantial control over them.

These domestic workers were sourced through the SMO, which was intended to...