KUALA LUMPUR - The agreement to send Indonesian maids here is in jeopardy.
Indonesian embassy Information, Social and Cultural Affairs Minister-Counsellor Suryana Sastradiredja told the New Sunday Times that the embassy had advised its government to suspend the sending of maids to Malaysia indefinitely despite the fact that maids had begun their compulsory training this month.
"We received reports that two maids were physically abused by a senior government official and his wife," Suryana said, adding that the two victims were also not paid salaries.
"The official did not respect the agreement made between the leaders of our nations," Suryana said. He declined to name the official.
Suryana said the two maids were recruited eight months ago during the moratorium period.
He revealed that one of the maids had sought shelter at the embassy on Friday night, while the other had been asked to return home earlier by the official's wife.
Asked whether a police report had been lodged, Suryana said the embassy was still considering whether to do so as it involved a high-ranking official.
"Diplomatic channels will be used. We will send a note to the Malaysian Home Ministry on Monday and wait for a reaction. The Malaysian government should act accordingly."
Suryana said the condition of sending maids here would depend on the punishment meted out.
The Indonesian government banned its people from working as maids in Malaysia in June 2009, following numerous cases of maids being abused by Malaysian employers.
A notable incident was that of 34-year-old Kartini, who was found dead in her employer's home with a fractured skull and bruises on the hands and body.
Following her death, the Human Resources Ministry had proposed the formation of a special advisory and enforcement unit to look into the welfare of abused maids.
In July 2009, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam had a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Erman Suparno to discuss a solution to the issue.
This led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta in May last year, which included conditions such as a weekly day off for maids, allowing them to keep their passports, and their salaries to be determined by market forces.
-New Straits Times
Might as well not import any more maids if the local employers does not know what it means by treating their maids with respect.
ReplyDeleteIf our country wants to import maids, there should be a better policy to protect the safety of these maids.
ReplyDeletesetiap maid yang dihantar ke negara kita perlu sah dan diberi perlindungan.
ReplyDeleteKita tidak mahu perkara penderaan berlaku. Kadang kala juga ada maid yang melakukan kesalahan. Maka pastikan mereka yang dihantar untuk berkerja benar-benar telah diberikan kursus khas.
ReplyDeleteBetul tu. Bukan semua amah bagus, dan bukan semua majikan jahat. Kena siasat perkara ini dengan teliti.
DeleteIndonesia government has the right to suspend the sending of maids to our country as a lesson to those employers who unable to give some respect to this maids..
ReplyDelete