My Local Maid: Creating job opportunities for Malaysian women

Nor Asma Arifin, who was initially apprehensive about living with strangers, has adjusted well to living with her employer

KUALA LUMPUR: When Nor Asma Arifin graduated with a diploma in accounting, the fifth of 10 children thought she was on the way out of poverty. But the 21-year-old from Dungun, Terengganu, spent a year looking for a job after graduation with no luck.

Desperate to survive, she then took up whatever job was available, including a position as a supermarket cashier, with a nett pay of only RM800 a month.