Nice on the surface, but underneath, a society of bullies

The room was like an afterthought. My curiousity was raised. Surely this could not have been a room to live in. It was less than five square metres. I’m not sure if that qualifies as “inhuman” because I also read in a forum for expats in Hong Kong that maids there have to make do with between 2.5 and four square metres. One anecdote told of a maid who was expected to sleep on a mattress under the sink.

Although official figures say that 240,000 maids work in Malaysia, the Malaysian Maid Employers’ Association estimates the actual number is closer to 700,000 when illegals are taken into account. These hardworking individuals enable parents to work long hours while letting children experience a rich extra-curricular regime of tutorial classes and piano lessons.

Yet, cheap maids are a valuable resource that many have taken for granted and advantage of. Stories of maid abuse in Malaysia have received much publicity. Most notable is the case of Nirmala Bonat, whose employer was sentenced to 12 years jail for scalding her with hot water and an iron.

While we hope this is an isolated incident, the ugly truth is that maids are treated as second-class citizens and – even worse – that this is accepted by Malaysian society. Apart from cramped living conditions, we also restrict their movement by holding their passport or not allowing them to leave the house.

Maids do not generally have public holidays off, nor are they compensated with overtime – mainly because their scope of work is never clearly defined. Some also do double duty as staff if the employer runs a restaurant or shop.

On top of that, I have witnessed many otherwise polite individuals scream at their maids in frustration. It feels like they’re thinking “How can you be so stupid and not follow simple instructions?” instead of “Thank God, I have someone to help me around the house”.

This is not a recent problem. In 2009, a representative from the Indonesian Embassy said that Malaysia was the most problematic of all the Asian countries that take Indonesian maids. Bear that in mind when you read that, in Hong Kong, a survey suggested that one in five maids have faced physical abuse, and one in 20 have been sexually abused. As a result, many Indonesians have lauded their country’s announcement that they will send no more maids to any country from 2017.

In all this, it surprises me that I don’t see many people asking an important question: if Malaysians are such a caring and polite people, then why do we treat maids so badly? Could it be that we are structured to condone and accept abuse when it is meted out by somebody in authority?

Malaysia is still an extremely hierarchical society in which extreme deference is given to those seen to have higher social standing. It may be that the reverse is also true: that those of higher standing do not empathise or sympathise with those “beneath” them.

We often hear about the race problem in Malaysia, but perhaps the issue is that of a class problem. As a result, all the work done in trying to promote harmony based on races getting along together is bound to fail as long as the rich feel superior to the poor, or that those of one religion are more deserving than of another – or that employers are more important than employees

There is more that binds us than sets us apart, and the sooner we understand that respect must be fairly given and earned from all, whatever your social status, the better off we will all be.

The person who designed the maid’s room would do well to bear that in mind