theSun | MONDAY JUNE 29 2009
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ALTHOUGH the Indonesian government’s
decision last week to temporarily stop sending
domestic workers to this country will cause
significant discomfort to potential employers,
the moratorium provides an excellent oppor-
tunity for Malaysian regulators to review their
stance towards Indonesian maids.
According to news reports, there are
300,000 Indonesian maids in this country.
Indonesia’s Manpower and Transmigration
Ministry says 3,000 Indonesians leave the
country every month to work as domestic
helpers in Malaysia. This underscores the
number of households in this country affected
by Jakarta’s decision.
Leaving aside the suggestion that Ma-
laysians are becoming far too dependent on
foreign maids, three issues need to be ad-
dressed.
First is the huge discrepancy in wages
paid to Indonesian maids compared with that
for their Filipino counterparts. According to
Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agen-
cies (Papa) president, Raja Zulkepley Daha-
lan, Filipino maids in this country are paid
RM1,000 compared with more than RM500
earned by Indonesian maids.
What justification is there for paying a
Filipino maid almost double that for an In-
donesian? Is it because Filipinos can speak
English and are more suitable for employ-
ment in non-Muslim households?
I believe Filipino maids are also better paid
because of Manila’s insistence on minimum
wages and other conditions of work.
Even so, does this justify paying an Indo-
nesian about half that for a Filipino maid?
If Filipino maids should enjoy a premium, I
suggest this should be capped at a reasonable
level – possibly 10% or 15%.
Because wages for domestic workers from
Indonesia and other countries like Bangla-
desh are so low, even hawkers can afford
to hire foreigners to man their stalls. Why
should hawkers be allowed to employ foreign
domestic workers? Not surprisingly, this has
led to a worsening quality of char kway teow,
chicken rice and other hawker food.
TELLING IT AS IT IS
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tions)
INDONESIAN MAIDS
A review badly needed
Furthermore, low wages could cause Ma-
laysian employers to under-value their foreign
domestic workers and in extreme cases, this
may lead to severe abuse of foreign maids.
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Malaysian policymakers should
consider this: why is it that almost
all cases of appalling abuse involve
Indonesian maids?
Another point to note is the
growing number of Indonesians
venturing further to work as maids.
In Hongkong, Indonesian maids
enjoy monthly salaries of HK$3,000
(RM1,500) or more – about three
times that in Malaysia.
Some Indonesian maids that MakingSens
I have met in the territory speak
impeccable Cantonese. This sug- by Tan Siok Choo
gests language and other cultural
differences are not a major stumbling block
for determined Indonesians.
Second is the Malaysian government’s
proposal to make it mandatory for employers
to allow foreign maids a day off. This move is
long overdue.
Some Malaysians have written to the press
to highlight their concern that if Indonesian
maids were allowed a day off, they could mix
with undesirable company, form undesirable
relationships, indulge in unhealthy activities,
become dissatisfied with their employers and
run away.
Again the comparison is with Filipino
maids. Although Filipino maids are given a
mandatory day off every week, why hasn’t
this prompted them to become dissatisfied
with their employers and run away in large
numbers?
Some may argue because there are more
than 1.2 million Indonesians legally in this
country (and possibly another 800,000 here
13
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illegally), allowing Indonesian maids a day off
poses additional risks compared to those from
other countries.
If so, policymakers should consider sourc-
ing of maids from other countries like China.
Wanita MCA has strongly urged Putrajaya not
to allow women from China to work as maids
in this country because they could break up
families by seducing husbands.
The Wanita MCA’s suggestion is unten-
able. If some Malaysian Chinese
women are insecure about the
fidelity of their husbands, they
aren’t compelled to hire maids
from China. Why should these
women be allowed to deny other
Malaysians the opportunity to em-
ploy mainland Chinese as maids?
Third is the issue of greater
legal protection for foreign do-
mestic workers. As Caram Asia,
a regional network representing
non-governmental organisations,
has pointed out, because maids are
defined as “servants” under the
Employment Act, they are denied
all statutory benefits except the right to sue
for unpaid wages.
I believe changing the legal status of do-
mestic helpers could encourage an improve-
ment in mindset. Instead of regarding their
foreign maids as servants, employers would
be encouraged to treat them as employees.
Employers must be made to realise that
unless working conditions are improved
significantly and immediately, Malaysia
will quickly become the destination of last
resort, not only for Indonesians but also for
Bangladeshis, Nepalis, Cambodians and all
those in the region who seek to improve their
economic prospects.
Opinions expressed in this article are the
personal views of the writer and should not
be attributed to any organisation she is con-
nected with. She can be contacted at siokchoo.
nsamail@gmail.com.