Two different government frameworks, not one open market
Neither route is a simple booking. The Indonesian route runs through the One Channel System created by the April 2022 MOU — a jointly-monitored pipeline requiring a registered Malaysia Recruitment Agency paired with a registered Indonesian Placement Agency, coordinated through SIPERMIT, and a contract certified by the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur before it counts.
The Philippine route runs through the Migrant Workers Office in Kuala Lumpur, the labour arm of the Philippine Embassy, paired with a DMW-licensed Philippine agency. The contract is verified by MWO KL, and the worker travels on an Overseas Employment Certificate issued by the DMW — a different institution chain from end to end.
The wage floor is treated differently on each route
Indonesia’s ≈RM1,500 monthly minimum is set directly by the 2022 MOU and shows up consistently across the sources this site checked, though it’s periodically reviewed and worth reconfirming before you fix a budget.
The Philippines’ ≈USD 500 monthly floor is newer — set by the DMW in 2025 and applied to Malaysia from late that year — but the DMW has described it as voluntary and incentive-based rather than a hard enforced minimum. Ask an agency directly where enforcement currently stands before treating either figure as final.
What Malaysia’s side confirms, and what it doesn’t
For the Philippine route, Immigration’s current figure is RM5,000 net monthly household income, alongside a stated RM750 personal bond and the standard female-21-to-45 criterion.
For the Indonesian route, the equivalent household-income figure isn’t settled — different official-adjacent sources give conflicting numbers, and this site’s Indonesia page deliberately doesn’t state one rather than guess. A personal bond figure isn’t stated for the Indonesian route either. Confirm both directly with your agency or the Indonesian Embassy.
Who bears the recruitment cost
Philippine law is explicit: the Batas Kasambahay (RA 10361) bars charging a Filipino domestic worker placement fees, so the employer carries that cost, and it can’t be deducted from her salary even with her agreement.
The Indonesian route doesn’t have an equivalent stated rule on this site — that’s a genuine gap in the public record, not a sign the cost works the same way. Ask your agency directly who bears each recruitment charge before you commit to either route.
What this means for your next conversation with an agency
Rather than asking an agency which nationality it recommends, ask route-specific questions: for an Indonesian candidate, the agency’s MRA/P3MI registration and the Indonesian Embassy certification step; for a Filipino candidate, the MWO KL verification and the current DMW wage-floor status.
Whichever route you’re weighing, treat this page as a list of what to verify, not a conclusion about which nationality suits your household — that’s a household-fit question the framework above doesn’t answer for you.