"Sleepy maid" story typical of negative portrayal of migrants

In page 3 of The Star, a report titled "Refund over sleepy maid" omitted some crucial information.

The report was about an expat homemaker being awarded a a RM2,894 refund after sacking a "sleepy" Indonesian maid who apparently could not wake up despite having two alarm clocks. The maid was apparently unable to wake up at 7.30 am despite having the two alarm clocks.

The most crucial information missing from the report is the number of hours' sleep the maid was allowed to have and what kind of work she had to carry out. Did she have to look after the employers' three-year-old twin daughters, cook for the family, take care of the laundry and ironing, clean the house, wash the cars etc?

This report is typical of many stories that paint a negative picture of migrant workers. We rarely read about positive stories involving migrant workers and their immense contribution to the Malaysian economy.

Neither do we read about the numerous cases in which employers heartlessly exploit migrant workers apart from the odd story or two that emerges when migrant workers decide to protest against their shoddy treatment.

This story in The Star also highlights the unequal power relationship between employers and migrant workers. The employers often have the agents at their beck and call to "retrain" and "lecture" the maids and even to threaten migrant workers with dire consequences if they fail to live up to what the employers expect.

And when the media step in to highlight only the employers' side of the story, the power imbalance becomes even more lopsided.

In contrast, the migrant workers have no one to turn to when they face ill-treatment, abuse or exploitation. When they face exploitation at the hands of employers, they cannot turn to the usually unsympathetic agents. The media are usually nowhere to be seen. Thus, few of the migrant workers' grievances ever come to the attention of the Malaysian public.

The only saving grace in The Star's story today is that it also highlights the common and exploitative practice of "recycling" maids i.e. agents hiring out to other employers the maids who were actually sent back to them for "retraining" or premature termination. But The Star report failed to probe how this practice can occur when a maid's work permit only allows her to work with a single employer. Is there corruption involved somewhere? The report failed to ask the obvious questions.

When was the last time we read a thorough, investigative story about exploitative employers and employment agents who earn fat commissions from the traficking of migrant labour?

What about a news feature story on the long working hours and exploitative terms of employment that migrant workers are subjected to? It is common for maids to have to wake up early in the morning and work late into the night - on their feet the whole day with barely any rest and often without any day off to speak of. Sometimes they are asked to clean up more than one house or work in their employers' restaurants, shops and offices.

When will the media report about the numerous cases of migrant workers being cheated of their wages because local employers refuse to recognise the contracts that the migrant workers signed with agents in their home countries before coming to Malaysia? Will the media highlight the weaknesses in the system and laws that allow such injustices to occur?

Or can we only expect stories that highlight sleepy maids and migrants involved in crime and other wrongdoings - stories that reinforce ingrained prejudices - while the employers and the agents invariably get off scotfree?

Blog visitor Prejudicer suggests that such bias is subconscious: "More prejudices are published by Malaysia newspaper: sometimes seem to be unconsciously done. Are we Malaysian always like this?"