Malaysian Digest - Malaysia News and Current Affairs

EVER drove down the streets in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) or in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and wondered who are all these streets named after? 

altTHROUGH language, one can learn so much more than just as another medium of communication.
Young and vibrant 25-year-old Nadira Hanum Akbar Shah is not only considered a trilingual, but her passion in language learning has led her to develop interest in understanding other cultures as well, shaping her into a savvy and independent young, female traveler.

Reflected as a girl-next-door, Nadira Hanum is not your average Jane and has friends globally through her personal expeditions.
Malaysian Digest: Tell us a bit about your interest in Korean language. How did you get into it?
Nadira Hanum Akbar Shah: I have always been into language and it actually started of when I was in high school, when I had initially wanted to take up Japanese.
But then I found out it was slightly difficult so I decided to take up Korean instead and I managed to learn the characters in just three days.
From there I took up night classes, and after high school I took up Professional Translation Diploma and then went abroad to Korea and completed my Korean Language Studies earlier this year.

I started out as a J-pop (Japanese pop music) fan but later I became interested in the Korean entertainment scene, however of late, perhaps because of my age, I just grew out of it.
When I was in Korea, I took part in this reality show on their local channel, KBS. I am pretty much fluent in the language now.
mD: Other than Korean, would you consider taking up any other foreign languages?

NHAS: I would most likely take up Japanese as my friends back in Korea told me if I can learn Korean, then I can easily pick up Japanese as there is not much difference between the two.

After that, I probably would want to learn French.

mD: Do you have any other hobbies? What do you do to relax?

NHAS: I love to travel. I would make sure that I get to travel at least once a month, if not out of the country, then just within Malaysia and I go on my own.

So far I have travelled within South East Asia as well as certain European countries. Every time before I travel I would do a thorough research and make detail planning on my destination.
I don’t usually go to tourist attraction sites. I travel to discover the culture, not just for sightseeing.

mD: How are your parents when it comes to traveling alone?

mD: Tell us about your fashion sense. What do you try to express through it?

WHEN it comes to maid issues between Malaysia and the Indonesian government, it is no secret that the dispute has been nothing if not complicated.

In the recent attempt of the Indonesian government to protect their maids while being employed in Malaysia, the former wants to introduce a 'live-out' concept to protect them from being abused by their employers, as previously reported by New Straits Times on Monday.

Under the proposed plan, maid agencies are to provide accommodation for the maids who will only be required to work eight hours a day and are also paid a minimum monthly salary of RM600.

Based on the statistics by the Indonesian government, it was reported that there have been a number of abuse cases in the country, and the proposal was brought forth to ensure greater protection for the maids.

However, having said that, the plan may open up a can of worms to other issues such as maids not returning to work, or the rise in social problems.

Following these developments, Malaysian Digest decided to find out what our Facebook readers’ views are on allowing maids to live separately from their employers and what other suggestions do they have to curb the issue of maid abuse.


* Kamalia Raihan Kassim

I highly disagree. If they live-out, it would be easier for them to run away. Even in cases where they live-in they would run away, let alone live separately. Sometimes their (the Indonesian government) requests are a little too much. As for abusive employers, they should just be blacklisted from hiring maids in the future.


* Marina Nasir

If maids are no longer required to live-in with their employers, then the latter might as well hire professional cleaning services that are of better standard in terms of work quality, considering they have been professionally trained. The maids’ salary should also be revised as their working hours would be reduced when they no longer live under the same roof.


* Janice Yap

There are already so many problems caused by foreign workers, whether they are tied to their employers or not. Shouldn’t our government be concerned of our local people as well if we let maids live-out? Shouldn’t the safety and welfare of our people be as important as theirs’? I’m sure there are other options to stop abuse, but live-out is not one of it.


* Yakuza Yamata

In my opinion, to reduce the abuse cases of house maids, it should be closely monitored whereby every three months or less, the maids should be required to report themselves to a special authoritative body in their district.


* Fadhilah Idris

I would like to see the Indonesian government ask for the same requests in other countries (such as Saudi Arabia). Why only come up with so many terms and conditions here in Malaysia? Their maids are not even protected there where abuse cases remain hidden. At the very least, our government would take action if the employers are found guilty of abusing the maids. Maybe a help-line or special body will be a good alternative.

* Noraini Jamaluddin

I disagree with the proposal as I’m sure there are other approaches to curb abuse. We don’t get wives or children to live separately from their abusive husbands or fathers but there are solutions as to avoid it from happening. The same should be for abused maid as well, where there should probably be a welfare body that would make random inspections to the employer’s house. If the Indonesian government wants to look after their maids, then they should be the ones to execute these inspections themselves.


* Jane Burke Chami

I agree that maids should have the option to live-out as I have heard numerous reports of maids being overworked until 10/11pm at night and then having to start again as early as 6am. A hotline could help but a lot of employers take the phone from the maid so they are not able to make calls. There should also be stricter fines for any employer who withhold maids' passport for "safe keeping" which is just to keep the maid a prisoner. It disgusts me how some maids are treated here. Agencies should do welfare checks on maids every 6 weeks without the employer present, or possibly have a union set up to look after their interests. Bad employers that abuse maids should be blacklisted and unable to hire any more helpers in hopes that this may encourage them to treat maids better.

 

- mD

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