An Indonesian maid was sentenced to three-and-a-half years imprisonment in a Malaysian court today for attacking her employer with a knife and a stick.

The court in Penang handed down the sentence on 27-year-old Rubiyah Sukijan, from northern Sumatra province, after she pleaded guilty to attacking her female employer last year, the official Bernama news agency said.

"I know I am guilty. I am sorry. Give me a chance. I promise not to do this again in the future," she told the court.

Police were called to the scene when 44-year-old Quah Guat Hong called them for help, saying that her maid was trying to kill her.

Quah was found covered in blood, with serious injuries to her head.

Malaysia is one of Asia's largest importers of labour with foreign workers, legal and illegal, making up about 2.6 million of the country's 10.5 million workforce.