Malaysia and Indonesia to discuss rising number of maid abuse cases

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia and Indonesia are to meet to discuss the rising number of maid abuse cases, as Jakarta contemplates temporarily cutting off its supply of domestic workers, a news report said Saturday. Indonesian ministers, the national police chief and several other officials are due to meet in Malaysia Monday, the Star daily said. 'There are proposals to consider to stop sending maids to Malaysia for a few months, to review and improve the system and discuss problems faced by maids such as abuse and unpaid salary,' said Teguh Hendro Cahyono, labour officer with the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur. 'We understand that Malaysia is not the only country [with maid abuse cases]. There are also a lot of cases in Saudi Arabia. In Singapore, there have been instances of maids jumping off buildings,' Teguh was quoted as saying. Aside from the abuse cases, other aspects to be considered including the maids' low wages of 500 ringgit (136 dollars) in Malaysia. In neighbouring Singapore, maids are paid a minimum of 800 ringgit while Hong Kong and Taiwan employers pay a minimum of 1,300 ringgit for Indonesian maids, Teguh said. Monday's meeting follows a recent case where a Malaysian woman was charged with abusing her Indonesian maid for three years by beating and scalding her with hot water, as well as withholding her wages. The government announced last week that it will soon make it compulsory for employers to give their maids one day off in a week, or face a fine of up to 10,000 ringgit (2,700 dollars). Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam said the day off would give maids an opportunity to report any form of abuse. Malaysia has some 320,000 foreign maids legally working in the coutnry, almost 85 per cent are from Indonesia, followed by the Philippines and other South-East Asian countries. Indonesians also make up the bulk of the tens of thousands of illegal maids who work in the country.