It’s Those Damn Middle-Men…… January 26, 2011

KL and Jakarta still deadlocked over maid issue

KUALA SELANGOR:  Malaysia and Indonesia are still negotiating to resolve outstanding issues related to the recruitment of domestic maids from the republic, said Human Resources Minister Datuk S. Subramaniam.

“We have been discussing the issue for some time, but there are a few conditions which Indonesia wants us to meet, namely granting a weekly day off for the maids and permission to keep their passports.

“From the survey which we have done, Malaysian employers are not keen on these two conditions. As such, both countries would continue to discuss the matter and I hope some kind of flexibility would be given to us to resolve the issue. – Jan 17, 2010, The Star

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Apparently, the shortage of domestic helpers from Indonesia is going to be so overwhelming that the President of the Malaysian Maid Agents have estimated about 50,000 households will be facing problems with domestic help. And from the looks of it, I just don’t see any solution in the near future. Why?

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For one, when diplomats from two governments famous for placing more importance on self-enrichment projects rather than the welfare of their people are placed on the negotiating table, how would you expect a reasonable solution to be worked out? It will always be a tussle of “who gets the most out of it” between the two sides, no?

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And secondly, Indonesian nationals desperate to make a better living for themselves always have had the option of going “illegal”. After all, we’ve heard from the Indonesians themselves about how easy it is to obtain a passport under a different name. So, what’s the urgency, right?

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Well, while negotiation is going on, no one seems to give a damn about the welfare of the employers. Yes, we’ve read about the maids who were abused and their employers who have been found guilty should quite rightly be thrown into the slammer. But you know what? Just as there are that many bad employers in this country, there are just as many bad maids who have caused a lot of anguish to the families who hired them. It really irks me to see the other many good and caring employers being victimised by the greedy and ruthless maid agencies and the equally greedy and useless government agencies, no thanks to the “ever-ready-to-go-on-a-witch-hunt” main stream media.

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I was fortunate to have had a very good domestic help as part of my family. Although she was not perfect, (but then again, who is, right?) she loved my children and was an efficient and hard worker. And for that, she was given many treats such as day offs, shopping trips with pocket money, mobile phones with enough credit to call home, as much food as she can eat, etc and was very much part of the family. After her two years with us was up and she wanted to continue working for us, I called the agent to renew her visa before sending her home for a month-long vacation. So, one would have thought everything was aye-ok, right? Well, when we went to the airport to pick my maid up after her vacation, imagine our shock when we found out that the agent didn’t only NOT renew her visa but had called her earlier to tell her that she is no longer under our employment and will have to go through them again to find a new employer!! That’s what happens when you trust a maid agent!!!!!!!

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Anyway, to cut the long story short, we bought a ticket back to Indonesia for my maid with some cash for her to try and apply a new visa from her side but we found out later that she too got cheated by an agent over there. While I am able to survive temporarily without any domestic help as I was already planning to migrate, I worry, and still do, about the fate of that poor lady.

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I’ve also heard so many horror stories from friends who, after having their domestic help with them for a couple of months, they would come home one day to find that the maid has ran off leaving behind their passports. Or how their maids would suddenly go crazy and demanded to be sent back. How many of you have heard rumours about the Maid Agencies advising the newly arrived maids to run away after the 3-month guarantee period? Just so that they can recycle  those maids, knowing full well that they will be instantly snapped up by desperate households due to the shortage of maids?

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Know what I think? That the dilemma faced by both desperate Malaysian households and desperate Indonesians looking for better paying jobs is mainly due to the unscrupulous ways of the licensed crooks disguised under the title of “Government Authorised Agents“!!!! Of course, needless to say, it’s also all thanks to our governments for approving these sort of practices. They obviously don’t give a fart about us little people, because if they do, they would have and should have:-

1. stamped out the middle-men and agents,
2. created and regulated working visas for domestic helpers like they would for other professions and
3. allowed mutually agreed employment contracts to be signed where both the employers and employees are protected, rather than the current ones where the agents and middle-men benefit most.

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So……………shall we hold our breaths? 

 

Being A Parent Ain’t Always A Walk In The Park….. January 22, 2011

Recently, I met up with a cousin, whom I have known and played with since childhood. So, imagine my surprise when she arrived at our meeting point dressed in matching leopard prints all over and a picture of the albino-looking actor in Twilight hanging off the rear-view mirror in her SUV. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, I know……..just never saw that coming from someone I thought I knew well enough. But as we chatted on, I realised she had little to say about her family and preferred to talk about her new business venture and social gatherings that she attends.

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This cousin of mine has two little boys, the youngest suffering from muscular dystrophy. From the very beginning, many of us could see that the baby had some problems with movements but despite our concerns, my cousin never saw it urgent enough to get him checked. Funny the baby’s pediatrician never noticed anything unusual. It was only recently when he turned 2 and was still lying down on his back with difficulties turning over or grabbing things with his hands and had trouble swallowing solids that she finally relented and sent him to be assessed. And that was when it was confirmed that her youngest son suffers from muscular dystrophy.

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Muscular Dystrophy is an inherited muscle disorder that causes progressive weakening of body muscles. As it is an X-linked genetic disorder, this means it affects exclusively the males, with most boys inheriting the mutation from their carrier-moms. According to most researches, there is no cure for this disorder, but with proper therapy and treatments, the progress of the weakening of muscles may be slowed down. But ultimately, those inflicted with this disorder will die young.

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I may not ever comprehend how it feels to know that your baby only has that few years to live but I do know I would be determined to make those few years in this world as memorable and full of love as possible. While there may be no cure, if therapy helps to improve the quality of life for the child, then by all means, I would go to the ends of the world to get that sort of help.

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When I realised my youngest child wasn’t speaking as he should be at the age of two, I knocked on as many doors as I could locate, trying to get a speech pathologist to assess my child. Although most of them told me to wait till he turned 3 for a proper assessment, I insisted that he started speech classes immediately. I remember those years to be full of sweat and tears, but then again, there were just as many laughter and love, because we decided as a family to do right with one another and to stick together in any situation. I’m glad to say that my son’s progressing really well today, doing awesome at a normal school and although he will still need to go for regular speech classes, we are definitely on the right track.

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From the onset of receiving the bad news about her child, my cousin and her husband have used their busy-schedules in their business as excuses to leave him with her parents or in-laws 24/7. Although there are schools nearby with available physiotherapy treatment for special-needs children, the poor boy has never gone to any because both his parents are apparently just too busy for him. Funny thing is that they don’t seem to be too busy for their tri-annual holiday trips overseas or chilling out with friends in pubs and bars.

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Her eldest boy is also not having it good from his parents either. He suffers from acute eczema but because there’s no one to cook nutritious home-cooked meals for him, he continues to suffer from itchiness and broken skin all over his body due to eating at hawker stalls everyday.

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Giving her the benefit of the doubt, I had wondered if the stress of being a mother to a special needs child had anything to do this state of denial or could it be that she’s just too busy to play mummy at the moment.

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I don’t know about you, but I always believed motherhood, or for that matter, parenthood is a privilege bestowed onto us, where we have been entrusted with the future of our next generation, to mould and guild them as well as we can. So no matter how our child turns out to be, special or super-duper special, we need to give our all in nurturing them, even if this means going to the ends of the earth to look for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for them. How they turn out as adults eventually will be a testimony to how we were as parents, don’t you agree?

Malaysia, Oh Malaysia…… January 17, 2011

An eventful 2010 would probably be an under-statement, as far as I am concerned. Being granted the Aussie permanent-residency was really the highlight and having survived the rest of the year, finding our footing in a foreign land, is probably the icing. What probably kept us sane and strong during the highs and the lows was the fact that we faced every situation as a family.

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We came back to KL to celebrate the end of 2010, with renewed and energised hopes for the future of our beloved country. But when a friend recently asked how it felt to be back, I was surprised that I wasn’t quite sure. I wish I could say that it was all awesome and great but it’s not that way at all. To be honest, I’m quite mixed about how I feel to be back.

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Obviously, I’m ecstatic about being back with my family. My sisters and I were always the bestest of friends and I truly missed our chats and meet-ups. And don’t even get me started on the adoring crew of nephews and nieces.

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But other than family and of course retail therapy,  it’s quite depressing to see how little our political situation has improved or how the general Malaysian society has progressed.

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Malaysian driving habits have probably gotten from bad to worst. In fact, there just doesn’t seem to be any rules to be observed anymore on the roads. Where roads used to be reduced to single lanes due to double parking, they’re now half-lane wide, due to triple parking!! Keep to your side of the road when turning into a junction? Are you crazy!!!?? Ever wondered why they even bothered with indication lights?

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And then, there is of course the infamous litter-bugs………there’s just no sense of pride in keeping our streets clean!!?? Is it the fault of the council for not providing enough bins? But is it really that difficult to hang on to one’s rubbish until one comes across a bin? Seriously, why is it so hard to be taught that “RUBBISH BELONGS TO BINS”!!??

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They say crime rate has been greatly reduced. That’s what the government, with their statistics and data, insists. But ask the ordinary man on the street  and they’ll paint a completely different picture. Women still hang on to their bags while constantly looking around to spot a potential thief. Parents are still reminded to hang on to their kids for dear life and schools, if possible, have stationed security guards at entrances. Homes still get broken into, theft victims still get stabbed for not carrying enough money, cars still get hijacked………..

Trust the cops?? Seriously!!??

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Politically, it’s pretty obvious the government of the day is desperately clinging onto power, “…..at all cost“, so declared the Prime Minister. We’re seeing record number of attempts to sabotage the good works of the Pakatan Rakyat state government and endless spins from the main stream media. And how can one not be alarmed when the Election Committee is looking into introducing voter-proxies, when they have yet to solve the riddles of phantom voters of previous elections!!?? Defend Putrajaya at all costs?? I reckon so.

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The education system here is in shambles…..in fact it’s gotten worst. Many family and friends are at their wit’s end, trying to figure out the best solution for the future of their children. The ministry in charge only seem to be interested in pleasing their political masters, while playing with our children’s future.

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Public transport? Unreliable and quite often dangerous to one’s mortality!!!

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Cost of Living? Rising at alarming rates, while salaries remain very much the same, if not for the 3-4% annual increment. The rich becomes richer, while the middle class and poor becomes poorer. With most families being forced to become 2-income families, the children are left to grow up with little opportunities to bond with their parents. Wonder how our future generation will turn out to be?

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So, while my heart will always be with this country where my roots belong, I just don’t see myself and my family coming back……or at least, not in the near future while the current corrupted and greedy government is in power.

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Malaysia is a gorgeous nation with so much potential to be more than what she is now but her people really need to come out of their self-centered mindset and grow up!! If corruption, racism, extremism and stupidity is continually tolerated, all for the sake of keeping the peace, then it’s only a matter of time before this nation faces economic and social disasters.

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