The cost to hire Indonesian domestic workers can drop to as low as RM8,000 per person, depending on the business-to-business negotiating prowess of registered recruitment agencies from both countries, according to the republic’s top envoy to Malaysia.

“RM15,000 is the maximum fee agencies can charge an employer but if they can negotiate a better price with their Indonesian counterparts, we will not interfere, as long as they go through the legal channel,” the Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia, Hermono, said...