RI maids spurn M'sia over money

RI maids spurn M'sia over money

MALAYSIA: With many Indonesian maids looking for higher-paying
jobs elsewhere, Malaysia will invite domestic aides from
Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, a minister said in remarks
published on Monday.

"Indonesian maids now prefer to work in Singapore, Taiwan,
Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia, which offer them better wages," Human
Resources Minister Fong Chan Onn was quoted as saying by The Star
newspaper.

He was commenting on reports that Indonesian maids were now
offered between 800 ringgit (US$210) and 1,000 ringgit a month in
other countries compared to just 450 ringgit in Malaysia.

Malaysia usually takes in nearly 60,000 Indonesian maids per
year, but just 12,000 have been recruited in the past six months,
while thousands of Malaysian households have been waiting in vain
to fill positions. Fong said he hoped Malaysians would not
prevent their Indonesian maids from leaving for other countries.
-- AFP