Surat daripada Cikgu

E-mail ini diterima daripada bekas guru Bahasa Inggeris kami di MRSM Kuantan.

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I am sending this letter to several of the press. The home ministry and the ministry of women, family and community. Could you send one to the kuatagh group and anywhere else u think would bring some meaning. I heard Azli has a forum. Please let me know. Thanks.

Letter to the Editor/Relevant Authorities

On the night of 29 April, my dear sister was brutally murdered in her bedroom; she had sustained head injuries, her internal organs severely ruptured. What would the last moments have been for her before she died? Did she expect the blow to come from someone she trusted and took into the safety of her own home? How she must have put up a fight, worrying for our aged mother, blissfully unaware of the gruesome murder taking place in the next room .My sister was found the next day sprawling in a pool of blood . She was 62 and lived with my mother, 84 years of age and an Indonesian maid. There was no sign of forced entry. The Indonesian maid had disappeared, leaving her bloodstained clothes behind. From the evidence, according to police, the maid is the prime suspect.

How can I describe the essence that was my sister Habnah? The newspaper reports only describe her as a victim, maybe just another one of many that we read about so often in the papers over tea or coffee, or while waiting to catch the bus. That victim, my sister was so much more. She was generous as she was kind. It took her sudden death for us to realize how much she gave of herself, to each member of our very large, close knit family and especially to my aged mother-making sure she took her daily supplements, reminding her of her meals, her rest, managing the repairs of the house, groceries, my mother’s daily meals, finances, medical health, as well as the 1001 things that a loving and dutiful daughter does every day for a much beloved mother. How could this have happened?

Could it be possible that a person we had let into our home to take care of two elderly women was the perpetrator of this heinous crime? My late sister was always careful to lock all doors and windows as precautions for security. But what precautions can one take when the criminal is locked in? We had engaged the maid from an authorized agency, had complied with all the procedures, made the requisite payments. Do we not have a right to expect that the maids we employ had at least been vetted to ensure that we are not letting into our homes psychotic, deranged persons who commit unspeakable acts of violence? Much fuss is made when foreign maids are allegedly abused or ill treated by employers, and Indonesian and Malaysian authorities are quick to jump in to render protection and justice. But what justice is rendered to my late sister? What protection is afforded to employers and their charges against the wrath of psychotic, deranged or violent foreign maids? I have been told that the chances of apprehending the prime suspect-the Indonesian maid is extremely slim, because of the ease with which she is able to slip out of the country undetected. What is even more fearful is that she could slip back into the country still undetected to take employment in another unsuspecting household, under another name. Such is possible because of the serious lack of mechanisms of proper identification of foreign maids. There is not even a thumbprint, and sometimes not even a signature nor even a surname for proper identification. Are background checks conducted to ensure the foreign maids we bring in have no criminal records or mental history? What procedures are in place to ensure there is no recurrence of this tragedy? The answer is- there are none.

I cannot bring my sister back to life, and nothing will alleviate the pain, grief and shock of losing a beloved sister in such cruel circumstances. But I write this even as I grieve, in the hope that no one would have to go through what my family members and I are going through. I know there are many households in Malaysia where foreign maids are left to take charge of vulnerable and defenseless persons – the elderly and incapacitated as well as young children. There is a critical and urgent need to address all the weaknesses and deficiencies in our existing system relating to the employment of foreign maids. Procedures and mechanisms of proper identification, stringent vetting of backgrounds, a tracking mechanism to ensure blacklisted foreign maids are denied entry will ensure a much needed measure of protection to employers and their charges. This is especially crucial in the case of foreign maids, because unlike other categories of foreign workers, they are brought to live into our homes and therein lies our vulnerability. My sister would not have suffered such an unspeakable fate had there been such procedures in place.

So who should bear responsibility for her cruel death? The ‘prime suspect’ who wielded the death blows or the authorities for their lackadaisical attitude in perpetuating a ‘system’ that gives scant if any protection to employers by allowing such ‘persons’ to take employment in our households ? It is too late to save my sister, but not for other vulnerable households. I implore all Malaysians to join me in appealing to the relevant authorities, particularly Immigration, and the Home Ministry to take urgent action to protect our households. Let us not delay any further for inaction or apathy on our parts may cost the loss of another beloved life or lives.

In conclusion let me ask a chilling question? How sure are you that the new foreign maid you are bringing into your home is not the abovementioned ‘prime suspect’ or someone like her? Sleep on it -- that is, if you can.

Rahmah Sahamid