FOREIGN LABOUR: Time for a rethink on workers

nst.online

2009/09/11

O.K., Kuala Lumpur

THE ongoing debate on the treatment and wages of Indonesian maids puts many Malaysian employers in a bad light.

It seems that what we want are workers who might almost be called slaves, who are paid as little as possible for doing as much as possible.

We denigrate our domestic help, criticising their every move. But when they say enough is enough and decide to leave, we say we can't live without them. We expect them to do everything, yet we pay them low wages, which we know are degrading to their very existence.

A man once told me with great sa-tisfaction what happened after he complained about his maid's alleged incompetence. The maid was just 16, and from a small Indonesian town.

He told me of how the agent beat and tortured the teenager for three days before returning her to him in a state of numb obedience.

I know of many people who intend to not comply with any ruling requiring maids to be given a day off.

There are also those who feel that for RM800 a month, they would expect their maids to feed themselves.

These are the very same people who can't keep the same maid for more than six months without having them run away or being exchanged for a new maid.

However, the fact that these maids are willing to work for what they currently receive shows how few job opportunities there are back home.

Raising the minimum wage would result in fewer work opportunities here for Indonesian maids as Malay-sian families would stop hiring them. This would punish prospective maids far more than the ill-treatment many have experienced while in Malaysia.

What should happen is a tightening of rules with regard to the treatment of maids and the proper enforcement of these rules. Agencies should be properly regulated and the rights of maids should take greater precedence.

On a wider perspective, we should take a second look at how we treat foreign workers in this country.

The apartment block where I live recently introduced a rule barring foreigners, mostly factory workers, from using the amenities, including swimming pools, playgrounds and gyms, despite the fact that they pay the same maintenance fees.

On the other hand, we seem to be extraordinarily hospitable to foreigners of certain origins and wealth.

Xenophobia is rampant and selective racism seems to be the perceived order. It smacks of rotten values and a disrespect of human dignity. And it marks where we are as a self-described modern nation.