Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
Police said the maid, named only as 24-year-old Kunarsih, was found dead when
her employer retuned home from work late on Wednesday.
<P>
The couple who employed the maid are in custody for questioning pending further
investigation, officials said.</P>
<P>
Indonesian embassy officials say police have told them that Kunarsih’s body
bore sign of abuse.</P>
<P>
The discovery is the latest in a series of cases to raise concerns over the
alleged abuse of domestic helpers in Malaysia.</p>
<p>Earlier this week, another Indonesian maid, Parsiti, 22, was rescued on a condominium
window ledge as she climbed down from a 22nd-floor apartment, apparently hoping
to escape an abusive employer.</p>
<p>That incident followed a similar case in June, dramatic photos of which appeared
around the world.</p>
<p>But despite the publicity, workers rights groups say officials often downplay
the problem of mistreatment of Malaysia’s 300,000 domestic helpers, the bulk
of whom come from Indonesia.</p>
<p><b>Lax enforcement</b></p>
<p>Commenting on the incident, Eka Suripto, an official at the Indonesian embassy
in Kuala Lumpur, said the lack of enforcement and prosecution of abusive employers
was compounding the problem.</p>
<p>"Certainly this matter will be further investigated," he told Al
Jazeera. "But the lack of law enforcement is leading to an increasing number
of maid abuse cases."</p>
<p>Punishing employers "will serve as a deterrent for others not to abuse
their maids" which will in turn reduce the numbers of such cases. But the
question is, what can the Malaysian government do in cases where the employers
go unpunished?"</p>
<p>About 100 maids were currently seeking shelter at the embassy after complaining
about abusive employers, he said.</p>
<p>"Once we finish with the relevant processes, we have to negotiate with
the employers for a settlement, such as unpaid wages, and then send the women
back to Indonesia," added Eka.</p>
<p><b>Protection</b></p>
<p>He said Malaysia and Indonesia signed an agreement to ensure better protection
for Indonesian maids last June, but officials were waiting to see those measures
being implemented.</p>
<p>"If nothing happens soon, the matter will be raised at a top-level bilateral
consultation later this year," he added.</p>
<p>In a high-profile case four years ago, Nirmala Bonat, an Indonesian maid, told
a Malaysian court she was repeatedly branded on the breasts with a hot iron
for as punishment failing to iron her employer’s clothes properly.</p>
<p>According to Indonesian officials some 1,200 maids flee their employers every
month, often due to abuse or dissatisfaction with long working hours, a lack
of freedom of movement, or unpaid wages.</p>
<p>Malaysia relies heavily on Indonesian migrant workers to work as domestic helpers
as well as in other jobs such as construction and plantation work which many
Malaysians refuse to do.</p>
<p><i>Source: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/315FDEC0-46BE-486C-A0D3-E018B9248B72.htm</i>
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