Having a maid is a privilege that comes with it’s ups and downs.
One of the ups is that you would have help around the house and one of the downs is that sometimes employers and maids tend to have clashing mindsets.
For example, a Singaporean influencer, Jessica Loh (@shiberty) took to her Instagram Story to bash her maid who had apparently helped herself to some seafood bee hoon that Loh had cooked for a friend’s birthday. Loh had found her maid eating some of the bee hoon without asking for permission first.
The maid noticed that Loh saw her eating the bee hoon without permission and casually said, “I eat your bee hoon ya.”
Loh then reminded the maid to ask for permission first before taking something, to which the maid had apparently gotten irritated and responded with, “You have so much, what’s the problem? I eat a little bit, cannot?”
The influencer thought of just leaving it at that but the maid then took it one step further by sending Loh a series of WhatsApp messages regarding the incident.
The maid wrote, “Morning, Jess. Why are you mad that I ate the bee hoon last night? We cooked two packets yesterday, it’s a lot. I just took half a bowl of the bee hoon without prawns or crabs for my dinner as it was 9pm already. You are not happy that I didn’t ask you for permission? You mean I should cook again for my dinner? You say I’m the maid, right? So you have to know your place as a boss. Next time, when you cook for your friends, don’t call me. Actually, I didn’t want to say this but you’ve gone too far. The bee hoon still had a lot and you’re angry that I didn’t ask for permission. That bee hoon, I cooked, no other person cooked it.”
Loh then shared her side of the story.
Loh wrote, “The way she said it made her look like such a poor thing, help me until 9pm so late, so hungry, nothing to eat. Please la. Look at the time stamp, we finished cooking at 6:25pm okay? Then around 7pm, she went to cook fried rice with egg for my nephew for his dinner. Why couldn’t she just cook more for herself for her dinner? The rice and eggs are free flow, she can eat anytime.”
“You want to eat my bee hoon because it looks delicious, sure. It’s true that I have a lot. Please, if she had asked nicely, I would have even offered her tiger prawns and crabs. The last time I made this exact dish, I offered it to her with prawns and crabs. I didn’t offer this time because I was busy. She’s rude and entitled because she believes I have ‘so much’ of everything therefore she deserves some too.”
An open letter from the organisation, Maid For More was since issued to Loh via Instagram, addressing the incident.
The letter read, “We appeal to you to approach such conflicts with grace and openness – openness to the fact that as Singaporeans and employers, we are in a relative position of power and affluence, specially if we can afford to hire domestic help. In the course of their chores in the household, our domestic workers come into contact with a range of our personal property. For many of them, these are items that cost half their salaries. To be handling items every day that you know you may never be able to afford for yourself or your loved ones can be alienating and demoralising.”
“We hope that you will find it in yourself to approach subsequent situations with grace and dignity both for yourself and you domestic worker,” they added.
The letter didn’t sit well with many as they believed that Loh had every right to react the way she did due to her maid’s attitude towards the situation.
Others pointed out that the maid’s attitude could be an effect of a much bigger picture.
What do you guys think about this situation?
Did the maid have the right to eat the bee hoon? Did Loh have every right to get angry?
What would you have done if you were in her position?
Let us know in the comment section.
Also read: Masterchef Aus Contestant Claims Radio Host Was Racist For Saying ‘Ni Hao Ma’, Netizens Disagree
