HELPER PROGRAMME TO IMPROVE WORK QUALITY OF INDONESIAN MAIDS

KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 (Bernama) -- The Saba Islamic Domestic Help Advisory
(SAIDHA) Friday launched a protection, monitoring and welfare programme (HELPER)
for Indonesian maids to improve their quality of work and service.

SAIDHA chairman Sabariah Abdullah said the programme, to be implemented in
collaboration with the Indonesian Embassy and the Malaysian Maid Employers'
Association (MAMA), would include training, briefing for the employers, violence
watch and finance matters based on insurance cover and banking to ensure
consistent payment of salary.

"This programme will monitor the welfare and safety of the maids through
violence watch as well as take the necessary measures to prevent untoward
incidents such as abuse and mistreatment," she told a press conference at the
Indonesian Embassy, here.

Also present were Indonesian Deputy Ambassador to Malaysia Mulya Wirana and
the labour attache, Agus Triyanto A.S.

Sabariah said that through the network of NGOs in the country, the HELPER
programme would provide a hotline to enable people to lodge complaints on maids
being abused by their employers.

She said the programme was free for all Indonesian maids in Malaysia while
the employers who wanted to attend the seminar would be provided a subsidy by
MAMA.

Meanwhile, Agus said the collaboration programme was the first step of
collaboration among the Indonesian Embassy, SAIDHA and NGOs in the effort to
handle the issue of maids.

"We hope this programme will foster a good relationship between the two
countries and there will no longer be physical, sexual and verbal abuse of
maids," he said.

MAMA, which was set up earlier this month, is trying to raise its membership
to 200,000, with an annual fee of RM50 (US$16.66).