Treat maids with respect, Zahid reminds employers

KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today reminded employers of foreign maids to treat their workers with respect and that their actions reflected the image of the country.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Home Minister said he condemned the action of M.A. Ambika, 60, who allegedly murdered her Indonesian maid, Adelina Lisao, 26, last month.
"What Ambika did was very regrettable, from a personal point of view and from the government's view. We condemn the action.
"I think all the lawmakers from both political divides also agree to this, and we feel sorry for the victim's family.
"And we ask the people of Indonesia and the government to appreciate the Malaysian government and the lawmakers stand on this matter," Ahmad Zahid said in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He said employers must respect their worker's rights for safety and security as every person is held accountable to preserve the nation's image, especially when Malaysia is striving to be among the top 20 nations in 2050.
He added Malaysia is a country that respects its laws, thus he assured his Indonesian counterparts that the investigations into the case will be thorough.
"Justice must be served for Adelina. The police have already arrested the suspect and the Indonesia's Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhammad Hanif Dhakiri has expressed his gratitude over this proactive measures taken by the authorities," he said.
He was responding to Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz on the extent to which direct recruitment of Foreign Domestic Helpers (PRA) would be able to accommodate the demand for PRA in the country.
Ahmad Zahid said the Immigration Department's new Maid Online system (SMO) which started this year is proven to be a success as it can save employers' costs from having to pay agents up to RM18,000 for a maid, to only paying up to RM2,535 if applying through SMO.
He said to date, 543,460 applicants have accessed the SMO, while some 10,604 employers have successfully registered their IDs into the system.
He added some 1,903 PRAs have been registered in the system and out of the number, 1,480 qualified for the Foreign Workers Medical Examination Monitoring Agency (Fomema).
Meanwhile Ahmad Zahid said the government is mulling ways to make it compulsory for employers to credit their PRAs salary into their bank acoounts.
He said this method would enable the authorities to monitor employers that did not pay their worker's salary.
"We have started with the e-wallet system where employers must credited the worker's salary into the latter's bank account. There will be credit slips and records, so we can monitor whether an employer has paid their worker's salary. Currently this system is not compulsory," he said.