Indonesia to Stop Sending Maids to Malaysia due Employers Abuses

Indonesian employment agencies were ordered by the government to stop sending workers in Malaysia to work as maids following complains of physical and other abuses committed by some Malaysian employers.

Indonesia has decided to stop sending its citizens to work as maids in Malaysia due to reported abuse by some Malaysian employers. The government’s order will take effect Friday following complaints of abuse by some misguided Malaysian employers. Other Asian countries that are sending maids to work in Malaysia have reported abuses by some Malaysian employers as documented by the victims themselves. The reported abuses committed range from physical abuse, attempted rapes, long working hours and non-payment of wages. The latest case to gain media attention involved a 33-year-old Indonesian maid who escaped this month, claiming she was scalded with hot water and beaten. Yahoo news reports:

More than 300,000 Indonesian women work as maids in Malaysia. Around 3,000 new maids head for Malaysia every month, most of them placed through specialized employment agencies, the Manpower Ministry said.

Maids file up to 150 complaints every month with authorities in Indonesia, alleging ill treatment, overwork, unpaid salaries and physical abuse in Malaysia

. Indonesian Manpower Minister Erman Suparno justified the government action saying that "We want to protect our migrant workers from contract violations and physical abuse," Malaysian Home Minister Hussein on the other hand said that Malaysia may have to look elsewhere to fill up the needs of Malaysian employers.