I refer to the Malaysiakini report Shocking! Maids are humans too .

When I was still in primary school, I’ve always envied my friends who had a ‘kakak’ (maid) to help their moms to do house chores, while I had to do house chores to receive my pocket money!

Nonetheless in retrospect, I’ve benefitted a lot from this training, considering that I am independently pursuing my studies overseas – I am able to carry out the chores in my hostel.

I had religious education in church too. And I’ve always been taught about the Sabbath day and how it should be a holy day and a day of rest. One of the biggest question that I’ve always bugged my mom and some Sunday School teachers about was this:’ Why don’t the kakaks don’t get their Sundays off?’

Recently, 75% of the respondents to a local newspaper’s survey answered my question. They said they were against giving their maids a day off.

The first question that comes to mind is ‘Why do we, in general, have a philosophy of suspecting others of having bad intentions? Or why do we think others are bad to the extent that we must exercise preventive measures if we have that authority?’

It is as though we judge before there’s any evidence. What’s more, maids are not teenagers who are more likely to mix with the wrong bunch and end up in vice activities due to peer pressure.

I. therefore. challenge these 75% of respondents who are against the day-off ruling mooted by our human resources minister to provide proof of such tendencies by these maids. A

fter all, do not our ‘kakaks’ deserve a communal life in our country too? Who are we to generalise Indonesian ‘kakak’s to be thieves just because another maid was convicted of theft?

If that logic is true, then I am a snatch thief too, because some ruthless Malaysians practice that and caused so much hurt.

I suspect, though, that the more we restrict and oppress our maids, the more the tendency they will have to abuse our children. Just as much as excessive stress can cause much hurt in a family.

In any case, as Irene Fernandez pointed out ‘Maids are humans too’.

They are not objects bought by our money. For if that is true, then all employees are objects and deserve no dignity, for they too receive wages from their bosses or ‘owners’.

‘Do unto others what you want them do unto you.’ I hope Malaysians would wake up and treat our ‘kakaks’ with dignity, so that they too may live a fulfilled human life.