KUALA LUMPUR: A 45-year-old Malaysian woman left a successful career in banking in her home country to become a cleaner in Australia.
Farasafina Md Daud endured a lot of hardship trying to make ends meet in a new country. She had previously been in the banking sector for 23 years.
However, the struggles of the mother of three and her family led to something good as she now has her own outfit offering cleaning services.
She said her family moved to Perth, Australia, to follow her husband, Ahmad Yassir Hamdan, 48, who was pursuing a master's degree at the University of Western Australia (UWA).
She did not feel awkward about uprooting and changing work even though she was previously in her comfort zone with a much more lucrative salary.
She said the cost of living in Australia was very high, and they had to pay a weekly rent of A$415 (RM1,251.91). The family's savings kept dwindling too.
"I work as a cleaner at a children's hospital under an agency, in addition to offering private services from house-to-house.
"I am assisted by my husband and we've supported our family during the past two years here," she told Harian Metro.
She said it was difficult to find a job based on her experience and qualifications because the Australian financial institutions she applied to prioritised people with experience in local banks. This and many other experiences eventually led her to land a job of a cleaner.
Farasafina said she complied with Australian regulations, which included registering her business with an Australian Business Number (ABN) and obtaining a police clearance, as well as providing a Working with Children Check (WWCC) card because she worked at a children's hospital.
"My job is similar to a domestic helper, except I don't have to cook. I wash and clean kitchens or follow customer requests, with a minimum of two hours and a thorough cleaning taking up to 10 hours.
"My customers include Arabs, Singaporeans and locals. Initially, our service rate was A$25 (RM75.42) per hour, but now it's A$30 (RM90.50), and for longer distances, we charge a bit more. In a week, we usually get three houses," she said.
Farasafina received many positive and negative comments from netizens, including some who criticised her for being willing to leave the country to work abroad after sharing her experience on TikTok.
However, she never felt ashamed to admit that she worked as a cleaner.
In fact, the salary for such work is good and she could earn 'halal' (permissible) earnings.
"I'm happy to do this job, even though in the eyes of others, I might be seen as having downgraded my life from working in an office to becoming a cleaner.
"But I don't care. In fact, the people here never look down on it.
"Furthermore, I want our people to see the real reality of living here. It is difficult to find a job without local experience (for newcomers)," she said, acknowledging she has received a lot of support.
Farasafina said after her online video gained attention, she received many messages from people who wanted to work with her.
For now, she is not hiring as she is cleaning places with her husband but does not discount a possibility that may change in the future
"I hope our effort will grow, and I can hire students from Malaysia who are studying in Australia to help them earn pocket money because I do get a lot of job requests," she said.