As Malaysia progresses itself to the direction of a developed nation, many working parents need maids at home to help out the chores and taking care of their kids. Indonesia with its very large pool of labor resources, by virtue of its closeness to Malaysia and ease of communication with the almost similar language to our "Bahasa" language, they are the natural choices for us Malaysians.
How lucky we Malaysians are, many of us could afford maids, cars and even own a second house! I had spoken to some of my American friends years ago, and they commented that we Malaysians indeed are having good life. Comparing to the plight of one of them, he had his second marriage therefore he needs to support and raise the children of his 2nd family, though he is already a grandfather from his first marriage. Hardly any middle class Americans could afford the comfort of having a full time maid at home in the US in comparison with Malaysia practically one could find maid in almost every home in the urban areas!
Some of the well-to-do parents wanted Philipino maids because they could speak good English but this comes with a price to pay. Generally, Malaysians prefer the cheaper and mild nature Indonesians. It is unfortunate that some of the employers mistreated their maids but I do believe those were just isolated incidents. We must always treat our maid as human beings, they are here to find a livelihood to feed their families just like you and me. They hope to work hard and save some money to build a better future for them. Sometimes employers should not expect too much from maids because if they are highly educated with good exposure to the outside world, they would not have come here to become maids for you. We have to be reasonable and treat them as part of the family so that they could do a good job for us. Have patience to coach them, and some love for them too as fellow human beings!
Maid agencies must be regulated such that collection of fees both from the employers and the maids must be reasonable. They receive the double portions from both sides as middle men but provide the services of dealing with the immigration on permits approval, satisfying the government specified requirement, arranging transportation and travel, giving basic training etc. Sometimes the fees collected from the maid side could be relatively an exorbitant high sum by their standard that they need to work for years to redeem back the sum of money.
Recent development had prompted Indonesian government continues to prohibit the sending of maids to Malaysia. Perhaps it is a strategy to negotiate for better pay and extra off days for their citizens. I think this is fair for every government to protect the interest of their "Rakyat". On the other hand, we should not be hand tied because of this prolonged unresolved issue despite compromise and negotiation involving even our Prime Minister. Though MOU after MOU were signed, and yet they drag their feet on this matter.
If we are offering job opportunities for the Indonesians, Cambodians, Burmese and Vietnamese etc, where many other countries such as China and India are excluded from the approved list of maids supply, these countries must be thankful to the Malaysian government. Employment in all forms if possible must be an open market that decides the values and the salaries. Malaysia should not bow herself so low just to get in maids! Open up the market for more countries to come in and let there be fair competition!
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