The Help

On foreign workers, particularly domestic workers, in Malaysia. First published in theSun on 10th February 2012.

The Help

Hollywood movie “The Help” tells the story of a young white journalist in the early 1960s who writes a controversial book about black maids and the racism they are subjected to from their employers, based in pre-Civil Rights movement America. Whilst America has moved on, where more than 40 years later the President of the United States is black, Malaysia still has not come to terms with its own version of discrimination against, yes, “the help”.

Malaysians have had a fair share of accusations levelled against us by others who think so too. Indonesia enforced a two-year freeze on the despatch of domestic maids to Malaysia in June 2009 after several incidents of abuse by Malaysian employers came to light. A similar ban was imposed by the Cambodian government in October 2011 after reports of maid beatings and rapes surfaced.

Most recently, the Ministry of Human Resources announced that after a series of bilateral talks with Indonesian authorities, this longstanding moratorium would be lifted, with up to 8,000 Indonesians being brought into Malaysia by March of this year, and possibly 80,000 in total due to arrive in the coming months. Amongst the 11 protection points that Malaysia has assured are the workers’ rights to retain their own passports, have their wages transferred via an approved bank and a minimum wage of RM700 a month.

That these guarantees by the government were made only now tells us a few things. First, that these provisions are not currently provided for in our country. Would, for example, these new regulations apply across the board to maids from non-Indonesian countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar? Second, it is only when a drastic measure such as a maid freeze is imposed that the Malaysian authorities are forced to engage in high-level talks to consider policy changes that protect the welfare of hired help.

Middle-class suburban Malaysian families could very well deplore the inhumane abuse some maids are subject to, horrified at reports of, for example, hot irons being seared onto their skin, and so on. Such physical beatings are surely not what any well-thinking Malaysian would indulge in, it is thought – “Oh no, not us.”

But ask an average Malaysian household maid employer whether they would support these protection points and you would get a heated debate. Some would argue that maids when given a day off would come home with deadly diseases they would not want their children exposed to. Some might say they don’t know how to take care of their own passports (never mind that they flew hundreds of miles across the oceans independently to get here).

At the core of this issue is that of class, and how we view others – in this case, those perceived to be below us in terms of education levels, income, language abilities and social status. If we can subscribe to the principles within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognises the inherent dignity and the equal, unalienable rights of all humans, then we ought also to confer the same to those we employ as helpers. To hold one’s own passport is surely a fundamental right.

To be fair, some of the fault lies with the system itself and the difficulty in regulating it. There exist more than 1,000 Indonesian maid agencies in Malaysia, which charge a certain fee to hire a maid, where costs include a whole range of administrative and logistical items. One migrant worker non-governmental organisation has claimed that this allows for hefty profits by the agents.

There is a danger therefore that maids are traded almost as if they were commodities, and by the time they arrive at the homes they are placed at, that their employers continue to treat them as such. There are exceptions of course, where maids are given due respect and treatment by the families they work with.

But for the thousands of domestic workers across Malaysia, any abuse being perpetrated is likely to go unreported. A number of solutions could be sought, such as a central agency through which all applications are processed instead of the numerous maid agencies that exist today. This body would also ensure standardisation and regulation in employers’ treatment of maids. Maids would also be given its contact information should any case of mistreatment arise. There is also the issue of their healthcare whilst physically in Malaysia.

Numerous young women leave their families and oftentimes, their own children, in search of jobs abroad. As full-time live-in maids, they are expected to perform duties according to the wishes of the families they are contracted to. As a result, there is a generation of Malaysian children who have been brought up by their foreign maids. This, whilst the women are separated from and unable to care for their own kin back home.

One might argue it was their choice to hunt out employment, and that they still get their monthly salaries. The reality is choice is limited by one’s surrounding circumstances, and every transaction especially those involving human beings, ought to be treated with care and respect. Malaysians – both private citizens and governing authorities – are equally responsible to ensure this is carried out.

One hopes that the new maid protection policies and guidelines will be adhered to, lest another freeze is announced, further affecting Malaysia’s relationship with its neighbours.

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