Print
    08 March 2012| last updated at 11:19PM

    MAIDS ISSUE: Agent fee is way too high



    0 comments

    I HAVE been scouting around for a maid for the past six months, as I am in need of a full-time maid. However, I am unable to find any local who is willing to be a stay-in maid.

    I, therefore, need to find a foreigner. Most agencies are not willing to bring in Indonesians at the moment, or they inform me that they no longer can get Indonesian maids.

    Cambodians can't come in to Malaysia now to work.

    We still have the rare Filipinos and Sri Lankans who are coming in.

    But has anyone analysed the price we have to pay an agent for a maid? Nothing less than RM9,000 for an Indonesian.

    For a Filipino or a Sri Lankan, it's between RM10,000 and RM12,000. The monthly salary for an Indonesian is RM650.

    For a Filipino, it is a minimum RM900.

    The question here is, why are we paying so much in deposit to get a maid for a warranty period of only three months?

    If, after four months, the maid runs away, we employers get nothing. Can you imagine forking out RM10,000 for a maid for just four months? That's about RM2,500 per month, on top of the salary paid to the maid. Are they worth that much?

    That's not the worst part; we need to fork out another RM10,000 to apply for a new maid.

    Now, unless one is rich, who can afford to pay RM20,000 for a maid within a year?

    And bear in mind that this new maid may also run away.

    Why are employers not taken care of?

    I know there are many stories of maids being ill-treated, but seriously, the employers are the ones being given the short end of the stick here.

    Even an electrical item costing a mere RM100 has a one-year warranty period. So, why is the warranty period for a maid only three months?

    How can we pay that much money for someone we have not met before?

    Most of you can retort that nobody forced me to apply for a maid. Yes, I agree, but do we want to willingly part with our hard-earned money and give it to an agent?

    I wish the situation is such that I can quit my job and just stay home, but given the high cost of living in Kuala Lumpur, I have no choice but to work.

    I am in need of a maid. But the sum paid as deposit is exorbitant. Can anyone explain this situation, please?

    U.C., Subang Jaya, Selangor

    Related Articles
    • BANTING MURDERS: Full Judgement
    • Wife charged with killing husband
    • Housewife, 5 men accused of murdering lorry driver
    • PICK OF THE WEEK: Tough cool
    • MACAU FESTIVAL AT SUNWAY PYRAMID

    Leave Your Comment


    Leave Your Comment:

    New Straits Times reserves the right not to publish offensive or abusive comments and those of hate speech, harassment, commercial promos and invasion of privacy. Your IP will be logged and may be used to prevent further submission.The views expressed here are that of the members of the public and unless specifically stated are not those of NST.


    Opinion