MAID DENIES BEING RAPED BY MINISTER

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya

JAKARTA, Jan 8 (Bernama) -- An Indonesian woman has vehemently denied that
she was raped by Malaysia's Information Communication and Culture Minister Dr
Rais Yatim when she worked as a domestic helper at the latter's home in
Kuala Lumpur for eight years until 2007.

She refuted the allegation to four members of the Semarang branch of the
Indonesian Workers Protection and Treatment Centre (BP3TKI) who met her and her
husband, reported a news portal, detik.com Friday.

In a written statement signed by her, the 46-year-old woman, asserted that
her employer had never made any sexual advances towards her.

"I worked for eight years at Rais's home. Everything was fine, I had never
encountered any problem, especially related to rough treatment and
inappropriate behaviour towards me," she said in the statement.

The denial was revealed to detik.com by National Agency for Placement and
Protection of Indonesian Workers chairman Jumhur Hidayat.

Jumhur said with the denial, the alleged rape had never occurred.

"The maid has denied the allegation in person and in writing that she was
raped and subjected to inappropriate behaviour while working with her
employer's family in Malaysia," said Jumhur.

He said the maid had also made the denial to Indonesia's Manpower and
Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar.

"The maid, who returned to her village in Central Java province after
leaving Malaysia, is now living in peace and calm in her tranquil village," said
Jumhur.

On Wednesday, Rais denied an allegation that he had raped his maid in 2007
as alleged by bloggers and the opposition.

Meanwhile, when reporters met the former maid at her home, she decribed
Rais as a good-hearted man and that she never had any problems with him.
"Rais Yatim is a good man. News reports going around saying I was
raped are not true at all. I used to receive money and gifts from him while in
his employ," she was quoted as saying by the detik.com news portal.

She also said that during her employment at Rais'home from 1999 till 2007,
she was once given one-and-a-half months leave.

She said she worked at his home together with three other maids from
Indonesia.

"Usually we divide up our duties. I help in catering whenever a function is
held in his home. Besides this I also open the gate when he comes home,"
she said.

She added that if Rais was a bad man and had not treated her well, obviously
she would not have withstood working that long at his house.

Rais' entire family treated all the maids very well, she said.

"As such, news reports alleging that I was raped by Rais are totally
false," she said.

The woman's 52-year-old husband, who was by her side during the interview,
said the rape allegations came as a shock to him, more so claiming the victim
was his wife.

"Throughout her stay in Malaysia, my wife never at any time had complained
that she was not treated well by her employer," he said.

-- BERNAMA