A Cambodian MP and Malaysia NGO Tenaganita are urging the Cambodian government to freeze the recruitment of domestic workers to Malaysia in view of rising abuses by their Malaysian employers, who allegedly “act with impunity”.

The statement was issued after Cambodian opposition MP Mu Sochua visited some maids who were rescued by Tenaganita, many of whom allegedly suffered prolonged violence from their employers.

NONE A total of 41 Cambodian maids were rescued this year, with 56 percent of them having been physically abused and 20 percent of them sexually abused, said Tenaganita executive director Irene Fernandez ( right ).

“In all of these 41 cases, the workers were not given a single day off, while their passports were held by their employers.

“In a country blessed with abundant food, 25 percent of the workers rescued were badly malnourished as a consequence of being deprived of proper food,” Irene told a press conference in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

She noted that some recruitment agents also act as accomplices, who would further threaten the workers whenever they receive a complaint from an employer. The agents would also confiscate all contact information the worker has in relation to the Cambodian embassy and local NGOs.

“Half of them said on arrival at their agency’s office, they were completely stripped and searched. On what provision can a recruitment agency do such things?” she asked.

Her strongly-worded condemnation came following an incident where a Cambodian maid, Choy Phich, was found dead at her employer’s house in Butterworth on July 17.

The post-mortem attributed her cause of death as pneumonia, but allegation surfaced that she was beaten to death by her employer.

Irene said police should persist with the investigation because “it is impossible for the girl to get pneumonia overnight”.

Modus operandi of recruiting a maid

Mu, on the other hand, revealed that the Cambodian Embassy has initially tried to force Choy’s family to opt for a cremation in Malaysia, which was deemed as trying to destroy the evidence.

She said the Cambodian authorities are unable to provide protection to their citizens in Malaysia, who numbered 50,000 this year. Worse, they are reluctant to pursue justice for the workers.

indonesian maid domestic workers “All of these workers came from very poor families, which were targeted by the agents.

“If the girl targeted is underage, she will be asked to provide her sister’s or relative’s identification card for the process of getting a passport.

“As for the agencies, some of them are owned by high-ranking government officials in Cambodia who enjoy immunity,” she claimed.

Irene noted that the authorities have not made enough efforts to address the issue of labour trapping, which led to the climate of impunity afforded to the employers.

Therefore, she called on the Cambodian government to freeze the recruitment of domestic workers to Malaysia until the institutional framework has changed to ensure the recognition of domestic workers as workers.