Papa: Maid agency not our member

The Star, Thursday December 6, 2012

By LOH FOON FONG

foonfong@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: The maid agency that detained 105 foreign women in Bandar Baru Klang is not a member of the Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa).

Papa president Jeffrey Foo said that, as such, they could not do much to help clients seek redress but had to let the law take its course.

“If you have evidence that you paid the agency, seek a refund quickly,” he told reporters here yesterday.

Foo said if the maids were in transit here to convert their tourist visas into work permits, they were considered to be working illegally.

“It's illegal for employers to use the maid's services before approval is granted by the Immigration Department,” he said.

Foo stressed that Papa did not condone the action of maid agencies in bringing in foreigners through tourist visas and converting them into work permits later.

He said that although the Immigration Department could convert a tourist visa to a work permit if individual employers applied, the process had been abused by many parties, including registered maid agencies.

Not only were the parties flouting the law, it had resulted in possible human trafficking.

Explaining the modus operandi, he said these agencies would bring the maids here illegally and lock them up.

“When an employer asks if they had any maids, they would say yes and ask the employer to pay between RM12,000 and RM16,000 in cash,” he said.

The employer would be asked to fill a declaration form stating that he sourced for the worker by himself.

Since the fees were paid in cash and no guarantee was given towards the service of the maid, many employers could not take a case up with the agency or the Consumers Claim Tribunal when their maids ran away, said Foo.

Foo said Papa's law-abiding members suffered when unethical practices were allowed to happen.

He said Papa was negotiating with the Government for a cost structure revision and gave an assurance that employers would not need to pay more than RM10,000 for a maid from Indonesia.

Maid agencies have maintained that the RM4,511 fee imposed by the Government for Indonesian maids is too low as the actual cost to recruit a maid is double the amount.

UNDP: Extend legal protection to women with informal jobs

By LOH FOON FONG

foonfong@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Legal protection should be extended to the informal sector of the economy to ensure women's rights are protected.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) assistant representative James George Chacko said the informal economy was a major source of employment for many in developing countries, especially women.

“In general, more women work in informal employment compared to men, and they tend to be grouped in the most precarious and poorly remunerated forms of work.

“In this context, extending the protection of the rule of law to informal and vulnerable work is vitally important to reducing poverty and inequality and protecting women's rights,” said Chacko in his speech at the International Seminar “Towards a More Inclusive Labour Market: Promoting Women's Increased Participation” on Thursday.

It was read out by UNDP programme manager Anita Ahmad.

Chacko said 53% of working women were employed in vulnerable jobs, including as unpaid workers in family businesses or farms.

Due to the lack of public and private support for family responsibilities, the informal economy might offer the only paid work that provides enough flexibility, autonomy and geographic proximity to home for women to combine paid work with family responsibilities, he added.

In her speech, Women, Family and Community Development Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur said that last year, 66.9% had cited housework as the main reason for leaving the labour force.

Wet spell pushes up number of influenza-like illness cases

The Star

PETALING JAYA: There is a slight increase in influenza-like illness (ILI) cases due to the wet spell.

Health Ministry's Disease Control Division director Dr Chong Chee Kheong said the number of ILI cases compared to total number of outpatients (national ILI consultation rate) from Oct 7 to Nov 3 showed such cases went up from 0.43% to 0.50%.

He said this was still well below the alert threshold of 10%.

Dr Chong said the ministry's virus surveillance on week 37 (up to Sept 15) showed that the circulating virus was mainly the influenza B virus (72.3%) which was less virulent compared to the influenza A virus (11.6%).

He said ILI occurred throughout the year with a slight increase during the wet season.

The main symptoms of influenza are fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, muscle aches, headache and fatigue, he said.

To prevent the spread of influenza viruses, he said people should follow basic hygiene rules and frequently wash their hands with soap and water.

“If someone has symptoms and signs of influenza such as fever, cough or difficulty breathing, he should seek early treatment,” he said, adding that those down with the flu should stay home until they were better.

Council: Family name at stake

By LOH FOON FONG

foonfong@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Fear of unwanted pregnancies is one of the reasons why parents allow their children to marry early.

Early Childhood Care and Education Council (ECCE) president Datuk Dr Chiam Heng Keng said parents consented to their children marrying early to prevent pre-marital sex that could eventually tarnish the family’s reputation.

“They believe marriage is the best solution and do not think that the girl needs to go to school,” she said.

“They also worry whether she could still be married off since she has lost her virginity.”

Dr Chiam said these parents did not appreciate the rights of the child but were more concerned about their reputation.

She said the parents might also not be aware that marrying their children off at a tender age could affect the youngsters’ health as well as limit their self-development.

She added that the children would be overpowered by their desires when not informed of the responsibility of sexual relationships and the importance of self-development and education.

“This could happen when parents do not communicate with their children and educate them on these things,’’ said Dr Chiam, adding that there was also a possibility that most times, the parents themselves were not well-informed of such issues.

She said schools too might not have taught the children life’s skills.

Meanwhile, Emeritus Prof Datuk Dr Hood Salleh said traditions tied to socio-economic needs were also reasons behind child marriages.

He said it had been a custom in the past for parents to marry their daughters off at a young age to help secure socio-economic position for the child.

Dr Hood said it might have worked for communities as a form of security in the past. “However, society has since evolved.’

It was reported that Nur Fazira Saad, 12, married Mohd Fahmi Alias, 19, last week in Kedah after their families agreed to the union.

Orang Asli risking limb and life to put food on our tables

I had a lump in my throat as I took the first bite to one of these mangosteens and recalled the story told by the fruit seller who sold them.

These mangosteens were bought from a seasonal fruit stall in Section 17 in Petaling Jaya yesterday evening.

The flesh was fresh, juicy and has an excellent sweet-sour flavour which I used to remember as a child. It seemed to taste better than the ones that came in from Indonesia.

It has been ages since I see mangosteens with flesh of such superior quality unless one hunts for them in a higher-end supermarket at a premium.

The fruit seller said that the fruits were harvested by the Orang Asli. The rainy season has made it difficult for them to harvest them, resulting in some of the Orang Asli who climbed the trees to harvest them fell from the trees and injured themselves or even died!

No further information were derived from the fruit seller as I did not understand Cantonese.

Much heartfelt appreciation for the Orang Asli for putting such excellent food on our tables but do they need to die for our sake? More needs to be done to protect them and their welfare.

PAS Ulama: Pakatan cannot ignore views expressed during muktamar

The Star (shared byline)

PETALING JAYA: The PAS Ulama wing has stepped up its call for their party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to be the Prime Minister if Pakatan Rakyat wins in the coming polls.

The wing said Pakatan Rakyat could not ignore the views of PAS' one million members.

“If PAS wins the most number of seats, naturally members expect the candidate to be picked from PAS.

“However, Pakatan has yet to make a collective decision on the candidate for the top post if the coalition succeeds in capturing Putrajaya. The party has to abide by the decision,” said Ulama Council vice-chief Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamed yesterday in response to objections from DAP leaders over Abdul Hadi as Prime Minister if the coalition comes to power.

Ousted PAS leader Datuk Dr Hassan Ali warned that there would be a revolt in PAS if the Opposition parties reject Abdul Hadi when PAS wins the most number of seats in the election.

“If Pakatan truly practises democracy, it should listen to the voice of the majority, and not the voice of a few top leaders in the Opposition,” he added.

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu said the final decision would be made by the Pakatan leadership.
“It is too early to broach the subject, as we must win first. What if Abdul Hadi and Anwar lose in the election?

“Then perhaps even I can be the Prime Minister,” he said.

Meanwhile, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said it had always been Pakatan's stand that the candidate for the Prime Minister's post would be the Opposition Leader.

“We stick by what has been agreed,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

DAP chairman Karpal Singh said Abdul Hadi should stick to the consensus that Anwar be appointed Prime Minister if Pakatan comes to power.

“PAS should do likewise without being told because the position has been accepted all along,” he said in a telephone interview yesterday.

He said Anwar was the most qualified and acceptable person to take on the role because he had the experience in government administration as the former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

In KUALA TERENGGANU, state PAS commissioner Abdul Wahid Endut said Abdul Hadi was the best choice for the Prime Minister's post because he has no moral issues to contend with.

“In the Islamic point of view, there's no one better,” he said.

However, Abdul Wahid said such hopes largely depended on the outcome of the general election.

“We should focus on winning the election first. If PAS wins the majority of seats, he would be the logical choice,” he added.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/11/20/nation/12342566&sec=nation

Private nurseries struggle to stay in business

Sunday November 11, 2012

By LOH FOON FONG
foonfong@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: About three million children aged four and below need daycare services in this country but many private nurseries are struggling to keep their doors open.

Association of Registered Child Care Providers Malaysia vice-president P.H. Wong said the Government should extend support to private childcare centres because of high operating costs.

As of May this year, 1,086 childcare centres had been registered with the Welfare Department: 989 were privately run, 16 set up by companies at work places, 67 in government offices and 14 were community-based.

Even for community-based childcare centres, there were few takers despite the RM50,000 set-up grant and annual RM64,000 subsidy given by the Government, Wong said.

This was because the subsidy barely covered operating costs since lower income parents could only afford to pay RM200 to RM350 for each child, she added.

A former childcare centre owner, who wanted to be known only as Cheong, said she closed her centre in Sri Petaling last month after operating for more than two years because the RM600 to RM800 monthly fees she collected from 14 parents could not cover the monthly expenses.

“It was really heartbreaking. I don't want to do it (run a centre) again,” said the 36-year-old.

She could not continue paying the RM3,000 rental for a corner unit house, pay providers' salaries, food, beverage and toys for the children, and utility bills, said Chong who spent RM25,000 to set up the centre.

She also had difficulty looking for care providers because the heavy workload made people reluctant to take the job even if she offered more than the RM1,000 to RM1,600 salaries.

Social Welfare Department legal and advocacy division director Dr Zaitol Salleh said that two nurseries had surrendered their licences from January to May, and on average five cease to operate each year.

Another childcare centre operator, who only wanted to be known as Ooi, said she had to close her nursery in a condominium after operating it for seven years because she could not get baby sitters.

“Most baby sitters prefer to work on their own at home while the young people prefer other jobs,” said Ooi, who is in her 50s.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/11/11/nation/12306342&sec=nation

Sunday November 11, 2012

Couples hit by childcare costs

By YVONNE LIM
yvonnelim@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: It's a double whammy for working couples with children maids are hard to find while daycare centres have increased their fees in tandem with higher operation costs.

A check with several centres in the Klang Valley showed that they have raised fees by up to 10% over the past two years.

A staff member at a centre in Bukit Damansara, who declined to be named, said that it had to increase its fees by 10% every two to three years.

The centre, which also offers pre-school education inclusive of daycare for children aged three to six years, now charges about RM1,600 per month.

Another centre in Taman Desa, which offers only daycare for children of two years and above without pre-schooling, charges RM500 a month.

“We charged RM450 last year, but had to increase our fees because food prices had gone up,” said the principal who only wanted to be known as Stacey.

A centre in Puchong has maintained its fees at RM500 per month, but expects to raise it soon.

The centre provides lunch and two snacks, a shower in the evening and assistance with school work for the children under its care.

“We will try to hold down our fees for as long as we can, but foresee having to increase it soon as everything else is going up in price,” said its operator.

Demand for childcare centres in the Klang Valley is especially acute as many families have both spouses working while living away from their parents and relatives.

The scarcity of maids has contributed to the increase in demand.

It was reported recently that agencies were asking Malaysians to pay more for maids from Indonesia even as the Philippines was phasing out the sending of its citizens abroad as domestic workers.

Association of Registered Child-care Providers P.H. Wong said the centres had been affected by the increase in living costs as the price of goods had gone up along with public expectation of the quality of service.

“Parents who want quality service must be ready to pay more. Centres have no choice but to increase their fees to survive,” she said.

She urged the Government to introduce a subsidy for parents who need to care for their children while they were at work.

The Health Ministry had announced stricter control of daycare centres, with regular inspection of nurseries to ensure that they are fit to take care of babies in the wake of deaths from choking on milk and other incidents at these establishments.

Social Welfare Department statistics this year showed that 52% of the 3,238 nurseries nationwide were unlicensed.

However, there is no record of the number of children who died while under their care.

According to news reports, at least 22 children under the age of four were believed to have died while in nursery care between 2009 and this year.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/11/11/nation/12306341&sec=nation