Malaysia desperate for RI maids<\/p>\n
Loong Meng Yee, Asian News Network, Shah Alam, Malaysia<\/p>\n
Tens of thousands of households are in dire straits, waiting
\nin vain for their Indonesian maids to arrive.<\/p>\n
The usually ready supply has now been reduced to a trickle,
\naccording to the Malaysian Association of Foreign Workers
\nAgencies (Papa).<\/p>\n
The association, which has described the shortage as critical,
\nclaimed the delay was being caused by agents in Jakarta who are
\ndiverting the supply to more lucrative markets.<\/p>\n
\"It has become tough this time. The supply has dropped
\ntremendously over the last six months. Things are getting
\ncritical because agencies can only meet about 20 percent of the
\ndemand.<\/p>\n
\"The Government must intervene as soon as possible,\" said Papa
\nvice-president Jeffrey Foo.<\/p>\n
He said Malaysia took in about 60,000 maids from Indonesia
\nannually.<\/p>\n
\"Feedback from agencies shows that about 80 percent of their
\ncustomers are still waiting for maids. They haven't even got the
\nbiodatas to give to prospective employers to choose from,\" he
\ntold The Star.<\/p>\n
Foo said they used to get the information within two weeks
\nfrom their Indonesian counterparts, but it was taking about three
\nto six months now, adding that it would take another two months
\nafter applications were submitted.<\/p>\n
Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr. Fong Chan Onn, when
\ncontacted, said he would inform his counterpart in the Home
\nMinistry how the shortage was affecting many working parents.<\/p>\n
\"The problem, if prolonged, will not be good for national
\nproductivity. It is also not good to depend on one country for
\nthe bulk of our maid supply,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Although Malaysia had recently raised the monthly salary from
\n380 Malaysian ringgit (about US$100) to RM450, it was still
\ndeemed too low to attract the maids here as employers in
\nSingapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia offer better pay.<\/p>\n
He said agents in Indonesia wanted the salary to be increased
\nto RM600, a move that Papa felt was only a temporary solution as
\nthe salaries in other countries were much higher.<\/p>\n
There are about 200,000 foreign maids in the country, of which
\nthe majority come from Indonesia. Others are from the
\nPhilippines, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. Papa is suggesting that
\nMalaysia also open its doors to maids from Nepal, Myanmar and
\nVietnam.<\/p>\n
A maid agency owner in Petaling Jaya who did not want to be
\nnamed said the shortage of Indonesian maids could also be due to
\nthe bad publicity over the alleged abuse of Nirmala Bonat.<\/p>\n
The agency head said the alleged incident sparked a national
\noutcry in Indonesia:\"The press there played up stories of Nirmala
\nand painted Malaysian employers as mean people.\"<\/p>\n
When contacted, an Indonesian Embassy official said the
\ncountry was being cautious because there had been many complaints
\nabout irresponsible agencies that left them in the lurch or
\nrefused to help them when they faced problems.<\/p>\n
\"In some cases, the agents in Indonesia are fed up with their
\nMalaysian counterparts for charging high fees, which can go up to
\nRM4,000-5,000 for one maid. The Indonesian agents are only
\ncharging RM1,500 to RM2,000,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sidebar<\/p>\n
Desperately seeking Indonesian maids<\/p>\n
KLANG: G. Sashikala, 48, has been desperately trying to get a
\nmaid from Indonesia since her last one ran away three months ago.<\/p>\n
But like many others, her efforts have been in vain, as the
\nagencies she has approached all say they are not getting any
\nbiodatas of new maids.<\/p>\n
\"I am willing to pay the agency fees as well as the new
\nmonthly salary of RM450. But the agencies keep telling me there
\nare no biodatas available,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Sashikala, who lives in Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam, and works
\nas a night nurse, has been finding it tremendously difficult to
\nmanage without a maid, as her grandson, R. Nikhlesh, 6, is
\nusually with her for most of the day and stays the night at
\ntimes.<\/p>\n
Some days, she only gets down to sweeping the floor and
\nfolding the laundry after she has given the boy his dinner and
\nsettled him in for the evening.<\/p>\n
Another family going through a tough period are the Lims from
\nPandan Indah.<\/p>\n
Businessman Richard Lim, 43, went to three agencies only to be
\ntold no biodatas on Indonesian maids were available for
\nassessment.<\/p>\n
The Lims need a maid to help with their three children, aged
\n6, 4 and 2 years, so they can help run the family's software
\ndevelopment business.<\/p>\n
Richard said they were now sourcing a maid from other
\ncountries, including Cambodia and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n
K.L. Lim, 45, from Subang Jaya, a sales executive and mother
\nof a school-aged daughter, has been waiting for a call from her
\nregular agency since her last maid went home to Indonesia three
\nmonths ago. \"My agency keeps telling me there are no biodatas of
\nnew maids. They have one or two biodatas in hand, but these maids
\nhave been rejected by others,\" she said. -- ANN<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysia-desperate-for-ri-maids-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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