The Indonesian government has been urged to secure the life of a 22-year-old Indonesia maid from a death sentence after she was convicted in Kuala Lumpur yesterday for murdering her employer.

Migrant Care, an Indonesia-based labour group, said the Indonesian government and its embassy in Malaysia should intervene into the case diplomatically.

Its labour policy analyst Wahyu Susilo said in a statement that in a previous case, an Indonesian maid who worked in Singapore and faced a similar death sentence obtained a reduction of his sentence after public outcry and intervention by the Indonesian government.

Migrant Care expressed its regret that the Indonesian embassy has not highlighted the case of 22-year-old Herlina Trisnawati and questioned what the embassy has done to assist her.

Wahyu said the group will send a note to the Malaysian government pertaining to the case and will monitor closely its development.

Not the just way

Meanwhile, non-governmental organisation Tenaganita said the death penalty imposed on Herlina was not the just way to deal with the crime of murder.

"It is harsh and it does not pave the way for any form of deterrent," Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez said in a separate statement.

Fernandez said there was a need to deal with more fundamental causes such as the working conditions of domestic workers and the mechanism to deal with their complaint and redress.

"We do not condone the brutal act Herlina has committed. There is a need for correction and process of rehabilitation. But this process has to be humane and compassionate," she added.

The Tenaganita director pointed out that the case also highlighted the need for the government to look into the system of employment, treatment and protection of domestic workers, especially in view of the fact that Indonesian domestic workers have no standardised contract.

Tenaganita reiterated its call to the government to recognise domestic workers as workers and given a standardised contract, as well as post arrival orientation programme for domestic workers and their employers in order to give them confidence and build understanding with all concerned parties.

No rest day

Herlina, who was 19 when she hit her female employer Soon Lay Chuan on the head with a stone pestle after an argument over burnt curry was sentenced to death by hanging at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Thursday for murdering Soon.

More than 90 percent of some 240,000 domestic workers in Malaysia are Indonesians, who typically work 16 to 18 hours daily with no rest day and earn less than RM1 an hour, the US-based Human Rights Watch said in a recent report.

Most maids are confined to their workplace and their salary is often withheld until the end of the standard two-year contract, after which most are never paid in full and have little chance of redress, it said.

Many also suffer psychological, physical and sexual assault by labour agents and employers, according to the report.