NOT ALL EMPLOYERS ABUSE MAIDS

KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (Bernama) -- Lena Udin, an Indonesian maid in her late
40's, thinks for a while and in a calm manner said: "No problem at all. I have
worked for three employers, no problems."

"What is important is (we must ) always love. There must be understanding
between maids and employers," she said.

She is one of the maids from Indonesia who work legally with almost 300,000
employers in Malaysia.

Earlier, this writer directed two questions at her. First, was she happy
working in this country and had she ever been mistreated by her employers?

The meeting with the maid was held at the residence of couple, Mohd Izaree
Azman, 29, and Raja Nur Azila Raja Kamaruzaman, 30, at Pesona Villa, Ampang-Hulu
Klang near here, arranged by her employer's father.

Admitting that not all employers were bad, Lena, from Tanjung
Morawa, Medan, said her employer treated her like family since she started work
last November.

"Bapak Izaree and ibu Azila do not think of me as a servant but family," the
mother of three said while cradling her employer's son, Megat Iskandar, 3, who
seemed happy to be with her.

Lena said Mohd Izaree was her third employer since she came to the country
about 11 years ago to help her husband support their family in Medan.

Before this Lena had worked with Malay families in Batu Caves, Selangor
(southern state in Peninsular Malaysia) and in Kuantan, Pahang (east coast state
in Peninsular Malaysia), since 1998 before moving to the federal capital.

With monthly wages of RM400, Lena said her main duty was to care for her
employer's two sons, Megat Iskandar and Megat Irfan who is nine-months old,
besides doing household chores.

"The question of wages is also simple. Izaree gives me a choice of having my
pay personally, sending it to Indonesia or depositing it in a Maybank account,"
said Lena who sleeps with her young charges in the four-room apartment.


Lena, who can speak in English, is also given days-off upon request and
always uses them to visit her elder sister in Bangi.

Asked about incidents where a small number of employers mistreat their
workers, Lena said she did not believe that a person who had a religion, what
more a Muslim, would do that.

"I cannot believe the treatment can be so cruel...if given pork to eat, that
is cruel because for Muslims even touching a pig is forbidden, what more being
forced to eat," she said, voicing sympathy for the maid from West Java, Siti
Hajar, who was abused by her employer for three years.

That employer was arrested by police following a report lodged by Siti
Hajar after she succeeded in escaping with the help of a taxi driver. A case of
abuse is pending against the employer.

Before that the case of Indonesian maid, Nirmala Bonat, being abused by her
employer, Yim Pek Ha, in 2004 received widespread media coverage especially in
her home country.

The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court sentenced Yim to 18 years in prison last
November and Yim is appealing.

For Selaseh, 48, from Pupan, about two hours by land from Surabaya, East
Java, she has no reason to flee from her employers in Chemor, Perak.


The mother of three children said this was because her employer, Naimah Mohd
Dahlan, 66, treated her very well to the point of considering her as her own
child.

Happy with being called "Kak Seh" and calling her employer "Mak Su", she
came to Malaysia seven years ago.

"From November 2003 till now I have stayed with Mak Su not wanting to move
anywhere as there are no problems between us," said Selaseh who is responsible
to manage the house and go to market.

Selaseh said Naimah also allowed her husband, Mohd Iskandar, 50, a
construction worker to visit her whenever he wanted.

She said he came to Malaysia about 12 years ago before she followed six
years later for them to raise their three children.



The children aged between 12 and 29 years are in Pupan while her husband
works in the city.

"Each month I send RM500 for the children. During holidays if there is money
they visit me," said Selaseh who had just returned from spending a two-month
holiday in village.

Lena and Selaseh are among some 270,000 Indonesians who work as maids in the
country. Overall, there are about 1.1 Indonesians working in Malaysia.

As for Naimah, maid-abuse should be rejected by society.

"If even a cat we can love, these are human beings. Like family. Do not all
religions forbid us to mistreat others," she said.

-- BERNAMA