KUALA LUMPUR: Hiring maids and other related maid issues have become a never ending story in Malaysia.
The latest debacle on the cost of hiring Indonesian maids needs a win-win situation for all parties in tackling the issue.
The recruitment fee proposal of RM6,700 by the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) to hire Indonesian maids has incurred extra cost to the people as the standard of living would inevitably rise day by day.
On top of that, the proposed fee structure does not include RM1,800 in loan to the maids to defray the cost on the Indonesian side.
Many, particularly the would be employers, had voiced out their dissatisfaction over the suggestion, which was regarded as unreasonable, especially, for the middle-income group.
Barisan Nasional (BN) Wanita chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil protested against Papa’s announcement on the cost of hiring Indonesian maids and regarded the cost as prohibitive.
The Malaysian Maid Employers Association (Mama) too opposed Papa’s suggestion, saying it was unreasonable and burdened employers while the Malaysian National Association of Employment Agencies (Pikap) also disagreed such a proposal as it does not reflect the decision of the government.
Citing the fees as exorbitant, many also felt that the proposal was illogical since the cost was not only too much, most employers concurred that both the government of Malaysia and Indonesia should deal and provide a service for hiring maids.
For employers who are willing to fork out any amount as long as they could have a maid to manage their household chores, their issues may not end here as they could still face other difficulties like maids running away and could not do their task as promised.
In recent interviews, many wanted government’s direct dealing to be the best solution for an affordable and cheaper cost of recruitment.
Could the government-to-government deal help solve the maid issue?
Nurul Ida Kassim, 34, said through direct dealing, the arrangement of bringing in the maids could be done directly without involving agencies as middle person.
“I think each and every household need to be given freedom to deal directly with the maids since there have been many cases with agencies that could not afford to resolve issues incurred, especially maids running away,” she told Bernama.
A working mother P Selvarani, 36, believes that through a government-to-government dealing, operational cost or levy of the agency could be reduced or omitted as the current fees contributes a huge amount of profit to the agencies.
“If we can deal with the Indonesian government directly, the fees will definitely be cheaper than now and we could hire a maid with a cost of between RM3,500 and RM4,500,” she said.
Furthermore, Selvarani said having a maid was not something that can reflect a luxury lifestyle like 10 years ago, but having one has become a necessity for most household since both spouses are working.
Lee Chai Wee, 45, said that issues such as abusive employers, run away, unsuitable maids could be easily detected and solved if the recruitment process was done through a government-to-government approach.
“If there are any cases like these, everything could be put in place according to rules and regulations because the maids are directly registered under the embassy,” said the nurse, who had to take care of her bed-ridden mother without any help since her maid had returned to Indonesia after her contract expired.
Lee further explained that she could not afford to get a new maid due to the high fee involved and now was facing difficulty without a maid as she has to handle housework, take care of her mother and children besides working odd hours to survive.
Concluding a similar opinion, the Federation of Consumer Associations (Fomca) president, Datuk N. Marimuthu said only through direct dealing between both governments could the maid issue be resolved.
“But what is happening now is that the non-governmental organisations (NGO) and agencies are bullshitting around with higher levy which causes burden to households.
“Why should we pay an extra few thousand to middle person? It is only an administration cost,” he pointed out.
He urged the government to consider direct dealing with the Indonesian government for the betterment of all parties, including the maids themselves as such an approach could reduce their burden and worry.
“Both countries have good bilateral trade and meet frequently, so I think this issue can be brought up to the attention of both countries,” he said. — Bernama