Employers: Let’s forget Indonesia and look for maids elsewhere

PETALING JAYA: It's ridiculous. Forget Indonesia!

That's the rallying cry of many employers who are frustrated with the fluid domestic worker situation with the republic.

The last straw was news that the fresh batch of 106 Indonesian maids headed here would only carry out one task for their bosses.

Reacting to the shocking news from Jakarta, employers and the associations involved have called for an end to negotiations with the republic over domestic workers.

“It's ridiculous. Either we change our lifestyles to live without them or we start hiring from other countries,” Malaysian Maid Employers' Association (Mama) president Engku Ahmad Fauzi Engku Muhsein told The Star yesterday.

It was reported yesterday that the fresh batch of Indonesian maids would be trained in four household chores cooking, babysitting, taking care of the elderly and housekeeping but will provide only one of these tasks for their employers.

The report stated that the workers were undergoing four skills training courses for 21 days and must be paid at least RM700 a month by their Malaysian employers.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Malaysia-Indonesian joint task force for the deployment, placement and protection of Indonesian domestic workers in Jakarta on Thursday.

Indonesia's Labour Placement Development director-general Dr Reyna Usman had said that the deal concluded by the joint task force was to prevent a recurrence of the problems affecting maids and employers.

Expressing dismay over the decision, Engku Ahmad Fauzi questioned the basis for it and said employers were disappointed over how the matter had been handled.

“The decision has only added to the frustrations of families who have waited so long to resolve their need for domestic help.

“If we need help to cook, clean and look after the children, do we have to hire three maids?” he asked.

Malaysian National Association of Employment Agencies (Pikap) president Datuk Raja Zulkepley Dahalan described the decision as “extreme”.

Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) acting president Jeffrey Foo said the higher RM700 monthly salary was “illogical” for a maid who would do less work.

“I am sure there are many maids who will agree to multi-task beyond what they are trained to do,” he added.

wah ... this one also market news [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

that's why it is posted in Community Lounge instead ma....
however if you think of it extremely...there is always a ripple effect for everything