Thousands of Indonesian women cross the Straits of Malacca to seek employment as domestic workers in Malaysia. They are courageous enough to leave their comfort zones to earn money to help with the family finances.
The menial work that they do, for a small sum of money, frees the employer to return to work and earn megabucks, while the maid takes care of the house, and the children.
Most women have no problems, but when things go wrong, many of the victims of abuse by Malaysian employers have rarely found justice.
We have read of several women who suffered terribly at the hands of their employers. Severe beatings; sexual harassment and rape; frequent slaps across the face; being scalded with hot water and burnt with hot irons; deprived of sleep and proper rest; locked or chained like a caged animal; malnourished from being fed only scraps of food; and being denied medical treatment.
Despite a memorandum of understanding signed in April by representatives of Malaysia and Indonesia, which was hoped to address the employment and protection of domestic workers from Indonesia, the abuses have not stopped.
Complaints about not being paid are received by the Indonesian embassy on a daily basis. Varying degrees of abuse continue. To most people, it appears as if the employers either do not care about the law, or think that mistreatment of their maids will not be reported, or both.
Of all the types of imported foreign workers, domestic staff are deemed to be the most vulnerable because they are confined to the household, with no means of contacting the outside world, should things go wrong.
The maid is isolated once they start their employment. When the agent drops the maid off at the employer’s house, the front gates or door are shut behind them. For some, it can feel like being in prison.
A few find that their passports have been confiscated and kept in a locked safe. This practice is illegal, but it continues to be abused. The employer’s argument is that the practice deters maids from running away.
Other maids find that their freedom is curtailed; to their horror, they discover that real life is not the same as what is stated in the signed contract. Where some maids are able to secure a rest day on a Sunday, many are not so lucky.
A good percentage of workers find that their mobile phones are confiscated and they are unable to contact their relatives.
On Sept 1, Indonesian ambassador, Hermono, expressed outrage when he visited Indonesian domestic worker, Zailis, who had been warded at the Selayang Hospital, after being badly beaten by her employer.
Hermono was livid that the abuses were still being reported despite the agreement signed earlier this year. He confirmed that his embassy was monitoring at least two cases of abuse.
In the latest incident, Zailis, a West Sumatran, could not endure the repeated beatings by her employer, and staged her escape only after her employer had fallen asleep. She sought the help of her neighbour to find refuge at the police station.
Hermono said that Zailis had not been allowed to call home to speak to her two children, and was banned from leaving the house on her own. She was paid RM900 for three months when she first started, but has not been paid since.
Her passport was confiscated and locked away. She had no days off. She was regularly beaten with a piece of wood and had wounds on her face, left side of her body, bleeding arms, and a swollen left eye.
She started work in the abusive household three years earlier, and she said that her employer failed to take her to a clinic, each time she suffered injuries. Zailis also had a broken arm which had healed.
The victim was put under police protection while an investigation into the employer is under way.
We have seen several employers escape unpunished when they seriously injured or killed their maids. When will Malaysia stop paying only lip service and start protecting these women by punishing the abusers?
Editor’s note: Police have detained a 35-year-old woman for investigations into a report of abuse in Batu Caves, near Kuala Lumpur. She has been remanded until Monday. - FMT
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
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