No end in sight to maid shortage

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians in need of maids are in for a tough time because the shortage of domestic helpers does not look like it can be overcome anytime soon.

After Indonesia said it would be stopping its citizens from working as live-in maids in other countries from next year, many expected the shortfall to be filled by maids from other neighbouring countries.

But Cambodia’s refusal to supply maids has been in effect since 2011 while the Philippines was more intent on supplying skilled and semi-skilled labour rather than domestic help.

Philippine embassy information officer Johann Andal said the much-improved economy in the country had created more domestic jobs, making foreign employment a matter of choice rather than a necessity for its people.

“There has been a drawdown in the sending of household services workers to Malaysia and other countries since a few years ago,” she said.

The Philippines has also imposed a minimum wage of US$400 (RM1,633) for its workers, which is seen by many Malaysians as too expensive considering that live-in maids enjoy free food and lodging.

Sri Lanka does not encourage but won’t stop its people from working in other countries.

There are 6,800 Sri Lankans working in Malaysia in various industries.

However, domestic helpers were only a small portion of that, said High Commissioner Ibrahim Ansar.

Yazreen Haron, 27, whose extended family has three live-in maids, said Indonesia’s move would make things hard on families here with young children or elderly parents.

She said they did not mind hiring maids of other nationalities as long as they were Muslim.

Madina Zolkepli, 42, also wanted a Muslim maid.

The senior manager has a helper who comes twice a week to clean the house but she was looking for a live-in maid.

“The challenge would also be to find an honest and intelligent maid.

“We take a risk when we choose from photos and without being able to interview candidates,” she said.

The percentage of Indonesian maids in the country has reportedly decreased tremendously over the last seven years.

Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies said there were “about 300,000 registered domestic maids six or seven years ago and 80% of them were Indonesians”.

This has dropped to less than 200,000, of which 50,000 came from Indonesia.