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Malaysia Makes It Easier To Get A Maid, Protects Muslim Maids
KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 (AFP)-Malaysia announced new safeguards for foreign Muslim maids, and eased rules on hiring Filipinas and Sri Lankans as part of a plan to check attacks on domestic helpers.
Non-Muslim employers hiring foreign Muslim maids must now sign a pledge to allow them religious privileges, said the Home Affairs Ministry's chief secretary, Jamaluddin Ahmad Damanhuri.
"The maids must be given an opportunity to perform their prayers, fast during the Ramadan month... and not handle pork and dogs, which are considered dirty under Islam," Jamaluddin told a news conference.
"Through this effort, we hope we can educate [employers] on certain sensitivities," he said. There has been a series of attacks in recent months on maids from mainly Muslim Indonesia.
In the latest reported case an Indonesian maid said her boss "branded" her hand with a burning incense stick after accusing her of theft.
A number of employers or their wives have been brought to court or are being investigated. It is not clear whether religion played a part in some attacks but there have been complaints of Muslim maids being forced to cook pork.
Under the new rules employers will have to pay their maid's fare home once the contract expires. Foreign maids must sign the same pledge form, stating their willingness to work for an employer and forgoing any claims on the government.
Jamaluddin said couples with a combined monthly income of 5,000 ringgit ($1,316) could now apply to employ domestic helpers from Sri Lanka and the Philippines. The sum was double that previously.
They can now obtain approval from the state immigration office to hire maids from the two countries without going through headquarters, he said.
"But we are allowing only one [maid] per family. Applications for more than that will be considered on merit," he said. Muslims would also be required to hire maids who were Muslims, he added.
Immigration Director General Aseh Che Mat said the new measures would help employers find compatible maids and check cases of abuse and runaway maids.
Some 20,000 maids ran away from their employers in recent years, he said. Just over half of Malaysia's population is Muslim Malay, with ethnic Chinese and Indians making up most of the rest. There are 162,868 foreign maids in the country, mostly from neighboring Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia.
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