A few months ago, a YouTube video showing a maid tossing a newborn child into the air as if the boy was a basketball went viral over the Internet and shocked the public in the country. Not long after that, the case received wide coverage from the mainstream media, the newspaper, the television and what not. Honest to god speaking, I could not even bare to look at the video for more than a minute let alone to imagine how would I respond if any of my family members were to be abused that way. The incident not only affects the baby and the family of the abused victim, but also gave traumatizing impacts to us Malaysian especially in terms of perception towards Indonesian housemaids. I am sure the society could not help but to have doubts towards the safety of hiring housemaids after the incident.
However, the case of abusive housemaids is not much of a new story, we’ve heard a lot of frightening stories related to the issue for quite awhile. Be it from the media, or the stories from our neighbours, our family, and so forth. But to be frank, I have never paid much attention regarding this issue until it got to this extent. Despite the many stories on the media, I still think that the degree of exposure and awareness regarding the matter is not enough.
For example, in the article “Employers reminded to use proper channels to hire Indonesian maids” (link given below) it was stated that the housemaid that committed the crime was hired illegally. Adding to the statement, Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia, Herman Prayitno said that the reason for such incident is due to the employers’ action of hiring maids not through the proper channels and that it should be a lesson for employers to be more careful in the future. To strengthen his statement, he explained that the Indonesians offered to work as housemaids in this country would first undergo training and psychological testing before being sent to Malaysia to ensure that employers would only get trained maids who were also healthy and emotionally stable to enable them to carry out their tasks well.
For example, in the article “Employers reminded to use proper channels to hire Indonesian maids” (link given below) it was stated that the housemaid that committed the crime was hired illegally. Adding to the statement, Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia, Herman Prayitno said that the reason for such incident is due to the employers’ action of hiring maids not through the proper channels and that it should be a lesson for employers to be more careful in the future. To strengthen his statement, he explained that the Indonesians offered to work as housemaids in this country would first undergo training and psychological testing before being sent to Malaysia to ensure that employers would only get trained maids who were also healthy and emotionally stable to enable them to carry out their tasks well.
But how well aware are we that hiring maids not through the proper channels could lead to such tragic consequences? Although hiring maids through the proper channels can be somewhat of an agitating process due to its many complicated and time-consuming procedures I personally think I would rather go through all that to avoid any risks. Correct me if I’m wrong but I am sure many of you feel the same way. Therefore, from my opinion, this is where the role of public relations takes place. This is an example of an issue that requires public relations practitioners to take action and think of ways to counter back the issue of abusive housemaids. An example of ways that can be done to avoid this problem is by organizing a campaign to raise awareness about the abusive housemaids cases in Malaysia. Some objectives of the campaign include creating mutual understanding between the public and, the policy makers and the legal housemaids agencies. The public needs to be address about the importance about hiring maids from legal channels meanwhile legal agencies should be aware of the reasons why the public prefer the illegal agencies and by determining the factors, they could improve their service and fulfill public wants at the same time. Strategy for this campaign includes disseminating more information and messages through the media and the tactic that can be use to achieve this strategy is the dissemination of information through public service announcements and social media.
Although a serious matter, the issue of abusive housemaids is an issue that lacks awareness and exposure to us Malaysian from my opinion. It is one of those issues that public relations practitioners can help to solve. However, what I mentioned above are just some of the public relations practitioners’ role in order to solve this issue. In fact, there are many more ways that could be done to eliminate this problem by making use of the role of public relations efficiently, and I hope the dear classmates who read this provide your own opinion and suggestions.
Written by,
Fara Atiqah bt Rashid
Article referred to: http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/02/20/Employers-reminded-to-use-proper-channels-to-hire-Indonesian-maids.aspx
In my opinion, one of the reason people decided to go for illegal channel to find their maid is not only because they want to avoid the hassle procedure, but it's mainly because it is cheaper to do it illegally. Most of us still have the mentality where we'd rather go for anything that's cheaper. This probably has something to do with the lack of awareness of people in the country. Yes, there are some cases that were being reported. But how often do we hear about the coverage of story on how important it is to hire a maid or foreign worker for that matter, through a legal channel?
ReplyDeleteI guess I have to agree with Fara, we need more public relations work or campaign to promote this awareness about the importance of hiring them through a proper channel. Yes, there's a big chance that we have to pay extra for these maids, but we are talking about someone who we supposedly trust enough to allow them entering our house. Hence, it is essential that we're doing it the right way, so it is more secure.
-Syahmi Abd Rahim
In my point of view, the attempt of hiring maids illegally is the initial problem of the whole child abuse issue and other upfront problems. Why does some people would even want to hire maids illegally when they themselves do not know the ‘land’ of those maids they are hiring? Who knows that illegaly hired maids may have change their identifications and whatnot at as a way for them to escape clean and somehow ‘lie’ to their bosses. This is a serious matter where black and white documentation and agreement comes in, in making the hiring become safe and secure. Play the part of providing extra money for a long term agreement, or be in a risky situation whereby the maids could just con and leave with fake identifications. The presence of a Public Relations practitioner is a compulsory form of advice for those clueless peolple, in a way to clarify everything without having doubts of hiring the maids. These people will try their best to ensure safety, provided with circumstances for those people and yet to always have a help whenever a problem might occur. That is why it is important to have Public Relations practitioners to consult in every action that needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteEither way of hiring , we are still unsure about their true intentions. PR can hold any campaign, it may help in some ways but still we cant control them. The most important thing is we have to be careful.If you hire the maids legally, bad thing will happen eventually. The new maids need to be in probation for few month, the longer the better. every house that have maids, parents need to install CCTV, to monitor their move.
ReplyDeletein my point of view, its doesn't matter where do you get the maid either illegal or not, but sometimes how the employers treats their maid. the employers should really understand the role of maid in their house. they should not put all the responsibility to manage all the things inside their house. even do sometimes the employer do not know what happened inside in their house and also their children. they should not put 100% of the duties of handling the family to their maid. the function of maid is actually to help the employer handling their family. stress are putting on the maid to handling every inches inside the house. so that, they tend to abuse the employer child to reduce their stress. for me, what should the public relations should do is, to create awareness toward the employer how they should manage their family well and do not put 100% responsibility to their maid in handling their family.
ReplyDeletei have to agree with aizat md noor's opinion on how these maids can lie to their bosses with their fake identification. if they can lie to their boss, there is no doubt they can lie to their 'Majikan' as well. First of all, why our local citizen prefer to use the illegal ways to hire the maid is because they themselves do not trust with the agencies that we have here in Malaysia. These agencies must provide the public with full information about the maids such as their background, capabilities and what not. This is where the persuasion skill comes in. They need to persuade the public with all the informations that they have. Correct me if im wrong, nowadays these agencies do tell the public the truth about these maids, but the problem is they dont tell the entire truth about these maids. The reason behind all this is just to 'sell' the maids. As long as they get place for the maids then they are good.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there is always a good and positive side of following the legal procedures in hiring maids. For example, when a maid is hired through an agency, any violent act or inappropriate events happen to the Majikan, they can report to the police as well as the agency itself. Imagine is the maid is hired illegally, then the Majikan would be in trouble as they have no where or no place to go to report the case (because the maid was hired illegally). On the other hand, it is also good for the safety of the maids. There are several Majikan who abuses their maid. In this kind of cases, these maids can run back to their agency and report on their Majikan, and of course the agency have all the records. Then now the Majikan would be in trouble. So PR Practitioner must take a serious action in promoting and persuading the public to use the proper manner or legal procedures in hiring maids.
Thank you for having the same thoughts as i am Tengku Nor Aimie. Although my family does not actually have a maid at home, but if they were to have one, i would recommend them to spend a little bit more on money to have a proper consultation session with the respected people (if possible) on making the best decision in legally hiring a maid. Good things come with extra packages!
Deleteyes aizat. inshaaAllah ada rezeki, i will apply to be the PR practitioner in one of the agencies that we have here in Malaysia. i will make sure i handle your family's record efficiently. and inshaaAllah i will promote and execute these ideas here.
DeleteI think we are forgetting one more important point here. What about the employers who abuse their maids? Illegal or not, maid abuse can still happen if an employer does not treat the maid properly. Whether the maid is hired through a legitimate agency, it does not guarantee that maid abuse will not happen. Ill treatment towards maids could result in the maids resorting to harm and hurt a child in the household. So what I'm trying to put out here is that employers themselves should also be educated on treating the maids ethically.
ReplyDeleteAnna
correct anna. betul tu. i agree. thats why i also said it is also good for the maids. just incase these abusive incidents happen to the maids, they can run back to their agency and make a police report because i believe all agencies keep the Majikan's records or profile.
DeleteExactly Anna! It also goes the other way around.
DeleteAssalamualaikum. The way i see it, it really depends on the relationship between the employee and their employers. I myself used to have a maid which had work for our family for almost 15 years. She was like a sister to me. Maybe its true that we need good and ethical PR practitioners to be involved especially in hiring these people but at the end of the day, it is up to the client themselves to take control of the situation. whether this process is being done legal or illegally, if the 'majikan' is able to build trust and have common ground with their maids, they could surely avoid these kinds of problems.
ReplyDeleteAs I see, the blame is all under employers, because if they use a proper channel to hire their Indonesian maids, these cases will not happen again. This is because, as the Indonesian ambassador in Malaysia (Herman Prayitno) said that the maids need to undergo training and psychological testing first before being sent to Malaysia to ensure that the maids are healthy and emotionally stable to carry out their tasks well.
ReplyDeleteBut I also agree with Syahmi's point of view, perhaps due to complicated procedures to get permits and what not, so that the employers decided to go for illegal channel to get their maids and after all it is also cheaper.
Therefore, I think the authorities should establish a new bill specifically to protect the employer's right and their security, or maybe the other way round to fight for the maids that have been abused by the employers. PR practitioners also must play their role actively to avoid these cases happen again such as do an awareness campaign like Fara said to let people aware of these cases and avoid it to happen again in the future.
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ReplyDeleteAssalamualaikum. It is interesting and an eye opener of reading through the reviews given by my fellow classmates. Surely, there are various thoughts and opinions regarding this issue.
ReplyDeleteI believe the illegal maid issue has been around in the longest time. The article that Miss Fara has shared with us has sparked outrage from the public for the maid treated the baby, as quoted by Fara, “Tossing a newborn child into the air as if the boy was a basketball”. It is traumatizing for a mother to see her child being treated in such an inhumane way by the person who lives in the same house as you are. I give full credit to the parents that took the right action by reporting to the police so that the maid will be charged accordingly as well as the public to be aware that such cases do happen so that they can take precautionary steps.
However, the root of this problem lies within the illegal maids themselves. How did they enter the country illegally in the first place? Regardless if they are hired through an agency or some other ways, how did they step foot in this country with no proper documents?
I am convinced that this issue can be solved when each person knows the right and wrong as well as the dangers of hiring an illegal to come and work in our country. This includes the people working at the agency to the parents as well as the community surrounding them to realize that illegal workers may be cheap, but it is a risky step to take. Sensibly, why should we trust these illegal maids as well as the agencies that recruited them since they supply us with fake documents in the very beginning?
Public relations practitioners play a role in this issue as well. They can conduct PSAs and awareness campaigns about the dangers of hiring illegal maids or any illegal workers of some sort. Furthermore, they can also highlight the benefits of hiring maids through legal channels and make future employers that it is worthwhile to fork out extra money to hire maids and workers legally.
In conclusion, the parents did the right thing by making a police report as well as the maid is punished accordingly. Communities, parents and agencies can curb this problem by taking the right steps by supplying and recruiting maids with proper documentation. Public relations practitioners can make an effort to tell the public the risks of hiring illegal maids. This way, everybody will be satisfied with what they paid for.
Thanks for the article and review Fara. For me, this issue is very familiar with us in Malaysia. Honestly speaking, I myself don’t know which department, agency or legal channel to get a proper housemaid. There is
ReplyDeletemaybe lack of information regarding them.
Sometimes this issue happened because the public always obtained to get a regular housemaid which is from not appropriates channel. We cannot blame on the public itself because as I mentioned above, there is maybe lack of information regarding the agency. Other than that, maybe in Malaysia we might have a very hard procedure and consuming our time to get a housemaid from the proper channel. Otherwise, the legal channel should change the procedure to make sure everyone can easy access to the procedure. In PR perspective, there should have a good advertisement or news regarding this proper channel. As Fara mentioned, we should take action by doing a campaign before the other issue strike. This is not only involved Malaysia government but also third party which is Indonesia government. In conclusion, Malaysia government should take a serious look over this problem.
garymunau
Regardless of its risk, I don’t see hiring maid illegally is the major issue but rather on how we treat them as human beings. It is not hard to sense if someone’s not okay, or not happy. Perhaps if majikan could show some concern sometimes rather than just giving commands, the maids wont have the heart to do bad things to them or their family.
ReplyDelete100% agree
DeleteThanks Fara for the review.
ReplyDeleteFrom all of the above comments, it is mentioned, whether hiring maid illegally or legally is the issue in hand. I would also put on my thoughts on that but i'd rather not.
Scrap all of it away and let's look it at another point of view.
1.Good treatment by employers and mutual understanding between employers and maids (employee) = A stress-free surrounding and a happy household. eg. Radin and his 'sister' maid.
2. Bad treatment by employers and no sense of understanding between employers and maid (employees) = Tense environment which can lead to various negative effects (like what the review by Fara said)
Personally I think, it's the human-psychology part of it that needs to be understood by any PR practitioners if there are any intentions in doing a campaign or passing a new bill for this issue.
"They are, in fact, partners in the family's stability. Give your housemaids the respect and dignity they deserve and you will live in peace and security" said Yaseer Al-Maarik.
Guys, give a second on this article http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130724174589 and see that it goes way beyond on hiring maids legally or not which can lead to abusive housemaids.
loved the article Ihsan! thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteand we will never know how nice people can be when we treat them nicely. you see, my previous "Kakak" taught me to cook variety of indo food and even gave me some really useful DOs and DONTs that they practice in their culture. belajar new culture in my own home. best kot.
instead of depending 100% on maid agencies on having the best, well disciplined and skilful maid, i believe as a PR practitioner we should put more effort on shaping our people mentality on our labor system.