KUALA LUMPUR, 27 Oct 2009: The Home Ministry is considering setting up a special unit by pooling the resources of several ministries to find the best way to address cases of maid abuse in the country.
Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today in Parliament that he would raise the matter at the cabinet meeting.
He was responding to questions about how the government would go about tackling maid abuse following the death yesterday of Indonesian maid Mautik Hani after she was allegedly abused by her employer.
Mantik, 36, died at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital, six days after she was admitted to the hospital where, Hishammuddin said, doctors tried their best to save her life.
The minister said the government would not compromise on the question of people’s safety, regardless of nationality.
“I will not compromise [on] such matters. Safety is a right of everyone … not only Malaysians but anyone who is on Malaysian soil,” he said.
Arrested
Federal CID director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Mohd Zinin said today Mautik Hani’s employers, a 35-year-old man and his wife, have been arrested over her death.
He said the investigation was being handled professionally as it would not be in the public and national interest for the police to act otherwise.
“We are conscious of the fact that this case has to be conducted expeditiously and that all parties have confidence in the way in which it is handled,” he said in statement.
Bakri said the police would present the case to the Attorney General (AG)’s Chambers after completing their investigation.
“All parties are advised to remain calm to allow the police to complete the investigation in accordance with the law,” he said.
Mautik Hani, 36, from Surabaya, was allegedly abused and found locked up in the toilet of a house in Taman Sentosa, Klang, and died in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang at about 10am yesterday.
She suffered multiple injuries on various parts of her body and was rescued by police from the house after a tip-off.
Bilateral relations
Hishammuddin said he was informed by Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Ismail Omar, who headed the probe, that the investigation papers were being readied for submission to the AG’s Chambers.
“I hope the case will be brought to court as soon as possible because, in the context of bilateral relations with Indonesia, it is in the people’s interest to see that the case is brought to court and judgement served immediately,” he said.
Hishammuddin said Mantik’s death could not be construed as government weakness in addressing such cases because there were 280,000 Indonesian maids in the country.
“I hope everyone will understand such abuse can happen because there are people who would go to the extent of doing it … it is impossible for us to monitor all employers,” he said. — Bernama
Karcy says
Good on the government. Let’s hope that they are effective and efficient.
We have too many government units in the country — what we need are some serious laws and implementation regarding employee rights.
abdul aziz ismail says
The Home Minister is talking nonsense, to have a special unit to address this issue; take complaints regarding human trafficking or labour exploitation by bogus employers and roque employment agencies. These companies were made known to him, but to date he never made any efforts to address it. […]