A female Indonesian maid, believed to be a victim of abuse and forced labour by her employer was recently rescued by authorities in an operation in Ayer Tawar, Perak on Thursday, 23 September.
This was reported in a statement by the Human Resources Ministry who said that on top of receiving various forms of abuse by the employer, the woman’s employers also reportedly owed her three years worth of salary totalling approximately RM25,000 between 2018 and 2021.
The Human Resources Ministry said, “The employer/suspect also exploited the victim by threatening her as she was not a documented worker and oftentimes scolded her if she wanted to go back to her country.”
They explained that the woman’s rescue was part of an integrated rescue operation by the Labour Department (JTK), the Council for Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (MAPO) task force and the police, which was carried out following complaints and information from the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Monday (20 September).
“The victim was physically abused, namely, being kicked in the face when she asked for the balance of her salary.”
It was reported that the woman had entered Malaysia legally with a work permit as a maid in June 2003 through an agent she knew. After she had secured the job, a sum of RM350 per month was deducted from the victim’s salary for four months as payments to the agent.
“The victim did not have any knowledge on this matter because she handed everything over to the agent and no written contract was made regarding the employment process, including payment to the agent,” the statement read.
It also said that the woman’s legal work permit ended in June 2020. Hence, she was classified as forced labour as she was working without pay, denied return to her home country, and was abused.
Indicators also showed that the employer had committed an offence under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007, the Human Resources Ministry said.
The ministry added that the victim, who was still traumatised, was placed at the Central Zone Shelter in Damansara after she was given an Interim Protection Order (IPO) by the Sri Manjung Magistrate’s Court on the same day she was rescued.
The IPO will take place for a period of 21 days until 13 October to complete an investigation paper under the ATIPSOM Act 2007 conducted by JTK, and the investigation paper will be submitted to the deputy public prosecutor for review and decision.
“This (operation) clearly shows that the country will never compromise on the issue of forced labour regardless of the nationality of workers involved.”
Although there was no arrest reported by the ministry, we hope that the perpetrator will be brought to justice soon.
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Also read: Mosques In KL Will Serve As Refuge & Support Centres For ALL Victims of Domestic Abuse
