Maid issue exposes rotten values

The Star Online, Thursday September 10, 2009

A GOOD measure of how civilised a nation is, is in the treatment of fellow human beings. The ongoing debate on the treatment and wages of Indonesian maids shames our people.

It seems that what we want are slaves, to be paid as little as possible, and doing as much as possible.

We denigrate our domestic help, criticising their every move, but when enough is enough and they decide to leave, we say we can't live without them.

We expect them to do everything, yet we pay them pittance, which we know is degrading to their very existence.

A man once told me with satisfaction what happened after he complained about his maid's alleged incompetence. The maid was 16 years old, from a small Indonesian town far from the city.

He told of how the agent beat and tortured her for three days before returning her, 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 same people who can't keep the same maid for more than six months without them running away or being "exchanged" for a new maid.

However, the fact that these maids are willing to work for the RM600 they currently receive shows how few job opportunities there are for them back home.

Raising the minimum wage would reduce work opportunities here, as people might stop taking in maids. This would punish prospective maids far more than the ill-treatment many of them have experienced while working in Malaysia.

What should be done is a tightening of the rules with regard to the treatment of maids, and proper enforcement of these.

Agencies should be properly regulated and the rights of maids should take greater precedence.

On a greater scale, we should begin by putting in proper perspective how we treat foreigners in this country.

The apartment 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.

Xenophobia is rampant and selective racism seems to be the perceived order.

It smacks of rotten values and a disrespect for human dignity. And it marks where we are as a self-described modern nation.

OLIVER KUMARAN,

Kuala Lumpur.