Indonesia is renewing passports for maids making as little as 500 ringgit (about Rp 1.4 million or $144) per month, not the previously reported 600 ringgit, according to a Malaysian newspaper.

Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Gen Da'i Bachtiar told the Malaysia Star that 600 ringgit was still the target rate, but the embassy is being flexible.

"If the maid is happy with a 550 ringgit or a 500 ringgit wage, the embassy will renew her passport when the employer seeks to extend her services," he said. Salaries below 500 ringgit were not acceptable, he added.

An Indonesian embassy official in Kuala Lumpur told the Jakarta Globe earlier this month that since January, the government had stopped renewing passports for workers reporting less than 600 ringgit in wages per month.

The ambassador also denied Indonesia had asked for a minimum of 800 ringgit per month for domestic helpers in negotiations on a new labor agreement. An embassy official had said Indonesia "might" make such a request. The two countries are expected to resume negotiations in October.

Labor relations are a prickly subject between the neighboring nations. Many Malaysians blame immigrants for crime and social problems, while incidents of migrant worker abuse in Malaysia provoke outrage in Indonesia.

Some 2.1 million Indonesians work in Malaysia, according to the Malaysian government, but only 1.2 million are in the country legally.