- Joined
- Apr 9, 2009
- Messages
- 3,070
- Points
- 0
IT'S just starting out, but if all goes well, Malaysians can slowly start depending on local domestic helpers instead of foreign ones.
While many are fretting over when the Indonesian government will lift its moratorium and allow its maids to come and work here, the Department for Women's Development (JPW) has been quietly going about training local women to help ease the huge demand for domestic help.
JPW, under the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, has, between 2008 and last year, trained some 1,199 women around the country as home managers.
Of these, more than half are already currently employed and earning a monthly income of up to RM900 (S$375).
They can undertake all the tasks a foreign maid is called on to perform for an average Malaysian household and come complete with a certificate to assure you of their competency.
The paper is issued by the department after they have undergone a two-week training course conducted by appointed trainers or service providers, as the department calls them, during which they are taught not only housekeeping skills, basic nutrition, and what to do in emergencies, but also how to properly care for babies, disabled persons and senior citizens.
As such, the department's director-general, Wan Hasmah Wan Mohd, is strongly against referring to them as maids.
To Wan Hasmah, these women are not maids but are "skilled, professional home managers who have been taught specific skill sets" that set them apart from the average foreign maid who may not have the knowledge or experience to perform tasks like caring for a newborn or seeing to the needs of a disabled person.
One other obvious advantage they have over foreign help is that their background has been vouched for by the ministry.
"Our service providers will interview every applicant first to assess their personality and check their identity. They are also required to undergo a health check. Only those who are able-bodied and have no criminal record can take part in the programme," says Wan Hasmah.
An applicant must also be between the ages of 18 and 55 and hold, at minimum, a Sijil Rendah Pelajaran (SRP) or Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) certificate.
Although Wan Hasmah feels that the paper qualifications and interview provide a fairly good indication of the individual's character and suitability for the job, she admits that the information provided by the applicant is not verified against any other authority.
"Perhaps we can look into further tightening this process in the future."
The initiative to train local women as home managers was first announced by former prime minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi back in 2008, during which RM10 million was promised as initial funding.
Since last year, the programme, called Azam Khidmat (Home Management) Project, has been parked under the Low Income Household National Key Results Area.
Apart from the creation of a pool of skilled workers to lessen our reliance on foreign labour, especially in bringing up our children, the primary objective of the programme is to create another income avenue for women, especially for those earning low wages.
When the term home managers was first used, it was met with much scepticism as many felt that it was just a "glamour" term for what is essentially the job of a maid.
Many local women are averse to being maids, thinking that such a job is for foreign labour and "beneath them".
But not housewife Nooraini Mohamed, 48, who is currently earning about RM500 a month as a home manager in Malacca cleaning houses about three hours, four days a week.
The job is ideal for Nooraini, whose children have all grown up. The money she makes is also a decent supplement to her factory-supervisor husband's income.
"When I heard there was a training opportunity, I jumped at it because I was bored at home. I like this job and I'm good at it because I've been doing it most of my life anyway.
"But most of all, the majikan never treats me as a maid," she shares, adding that sometimes when she arrives early, the employer treats her to a cup of coffee before she starts working.
"I'm a helper, not a maid. They also ask my opinion on things -- like what to buy for the house, what pattern is suitable for the curtains. I don't think you share so much with your foreign maids," she adds.
Her job scope, rights, and pay are also clearly spelt out in a simple agreement drafted by the trainer, who acts as the middleman between her and her prospective employer.
In the same agreement is also stipulated the obligations of the employer, including when and how to make the agreed payment for services rendered.
Appointed trainer Joriah Johan says it is difficult to get many women who think like Nooraini.
"The hardest part of my job isn't the training, but to convince them that it is not just a maid's job, nor are we merely re-branding it for 'glamour'. Knowing that their skills will be certified helps a lot in garnering some interest," says Joriah.
Joriah, who is also based in Malacca, says her home managers charge on average about RM10 per hour. This seems a reasonable rate for part-time help, but if a family needs a home manager to baby-sit their children eight hours a day and six days a week, the sum would amount to some RM1,920 per month -- too exorbitant for an average middle-income family.
The salary rate isn't fixed, says JPW's Wan Hasmah.
"If they agree to stay with the family, then the salary scale will be different and the prospective employer and employee can negotiate it themselves, with the help of the service provider if necessary."
"I think it is important to underline the fact that the programme is not a national scheme to replace our reliance on foreign maids.
"On one hand, it is to provide our women trapped in low-income jobs another opportunity to be self-reliant; on the other, it is to give our career women or people who need domestic help, the choice of safe, quality, trained help," adds Wan Hasmah.
-New Straits Times
