Reuters
PHNOM PENH — Cambodia has banned its citizens from going to work in Malaysia as maids, its prime minister said on Friday, following a series of horrific reports of beatings and rapes.
The order follows a similar ban imposed by Indonesia on its citizens from taking new jobs as domestic workers in Malaysia, where maids are common in middle-class households, thanks in part to a large migrant labor pool.
"I would like to congratulate the prime minister for the suspension," Cambodia opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua of the Sam Rainsy Party told Reuters after the decision by Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Cambodia's Community Legal Education Center, which is working with abused domestic workers, said there had been reports of three maids who were killed in Malaysia, and two were raped and kept in isolation, their passports held from them.
Indonesia banned its citizens from working as maids in Malaysia in 2009 after several highly publicized cases of physical abuse by Malaysian employers, which triggered anti-Malaysia demonstrations in Jakarta.
Both countries held discussions and reached an agreement in April this year after Malaysia pledged to improve working conditions, but Indonesia has yet to allow hiring to resume, worsening a growing shortage of domestic helpers in the country.
Malaysia is dependent on migrant workers who total up to 2 million people or 21 percent of the country's workforce. Indonesia is the main source of foreign labor in Malaysia. One in every 16 residents in Malaysia's capital hires an Indonesian helper, according to data from the Indonesian Embassy.
An Bunhak, president of the Association of Cambodian Recruiting Agencies, said it would uphold the order from the government to stop sending people to work as maids in Malaysia.
"The Ministry of Labour is enforcing what the prime minister has said," An Bunhak said, adding that about 50,000 maids have sought work in Malaysia since 2009.
Cambodian recruitment agencies also this year decided not to send maids to Kuwait after complaints by human rights groups of abuse by employers there.
6 comments:
can't believe malaysia is abusing the maids? no wonder indonesia stopped sending their maids worker there, and now cambodia is starting to do the same! and they only biased on cambodia! some people could be so ignorant, you know!
dammit.....you know ..you know lolz.....bravo hun sen bring our love one home and create domestic jobs
Congratulations must go to Madam Mu Sochua for her effort.
Kuoy Pichet
What does Saumura think about Mu Sochua's success in this issue?
et al
The fucken horrific stories of Cambodian maids being raped and beaten even kill had long been coming to AH HUN SEN's ear but AH HUN SEN refused to listen because these dirt poor Cambodian women were sacificed in the scheme of job creation which AH HUN SEN want to take so much credit for!
Well...AH HUN SEN can take his job creation scheme and shove it up his arse!
Just to be fair to PM Hun Sen, I am also congratulating him on his good decision to stop Cambodian maids from seeking employment in Malaysia.
Well, the Malaysians can start learning to clean their shit for once!
Pissed off
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