By MEERA MURUGESAN, Weekend Mail.
HOMELY domestics or husband snatchers? The recent proposal to bring in maids from China to work in Malaysia has drawn strong opposition from Chinese women leaders in the country.
HOMELY domestics or husband snatchers? The recent proposal to bring in maids from China to work in Malaysia has drawn strong opposition from Chinese women leaders in the country.
The move, they say, will only ensure more broken marriages as a result of husbands falling prey to the charms of China girls and social problems will escalate in the country.
Weekend Mail caught up with two personalities with strong views on the subject — Teresa Kok, Member of Parliament for Seputeh and Datuk Michael Chong, head of MCA Public Services and Complaint Department — and put them under the knife.
TERESA KOK
WEEKEND MAIL (WM): Why the opposition to maids from China?
Teresa Kok (Kok): This is not only a problem here but even in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Many businessmen there are investing or setting up factories in China and have ‘second wives’ in the country.
I’ve even heard complaints from the Chinese community in New Zealand about how mainland Chinese girls cannot be trusted and that they will try all sorts of tricks to enter the country.
It’s like wherever in the world the Chinese community has settled, the same problems crop up.
WM: How bad is it in Malaysia?
Kok: To my surprise, I found those men involved with China girls are not always from the higher levels of society like successful businessmen. There are even hawkers among them!
A few days ago, when I was chatting with supporters in a market, a man asked how he could bring his China girlfriend here. He was already married with kids, so the ‘girlfriend’ was his mistress and he wanted to know if he could bring her in on a maid’s visa.
WM: Do you believe such abuses will become common?
Kok: I believe there will be men who will abuse this process to bring in their foreign mistresses. We will have a situation where the wife will end up accommodating the ‘other woman’ in her own home.
These men may also use the visa to bring these women and keep them elsewhere. The Government may consider some restrictions like allowing only those above 40 to enter, but we all know that information on passports can be forged. It has happened many times with Indonesian maids.
With this proposal we are inviting more problems in the Chinese community. That’s why Chinese women leaders are opposed to it.
WM: Isn’t it wrong to put the blame solely on these girls?
Kok: It doesn’t mean that if we stop China girls from coming into the country, husbands will be loyal. But we will pay a higher social cost if we allow them in.
At least when they come as students, the country earns the fees, but as maids, we don’t gain anything as their money is going back to China.
WM: Would these girls want to work as domestics ?
Kok: I don’t think they would find it appealing. In major Chinese cities, income is quite high. They won’t find it attractive to work as a maid here for the same sum we pay Indonesians. With China’s one-child policy, many children grew up pampered, so I don’t think these young women would be able to serve as maids.
WM: What’s the solution?
Kok: Setting up more child care centres run by professionally trained nannies. It will ensure we create more jobs for Malaysian women and reduce dependency on foreign maids.
DATUK MICHAEL CHONG
WM: Are China girls a problem?
Chong: I acknowledge there are many cases involving girls from China and Malaysian men, so I understand and appreciate the concerns of Malaysian women.
Most of the men are businessmen who go to China for work and get entangled with women there. Some got involved with girls from China who come here as students.
Many Malaysian wives and girlfriends have come to me asking how they can get Immigration to kick these women out of the country as they are breaking up marriages. We get four or five such complaints a month.
WM: So the concerns of local Chinese women are legitimate?
Chong: I understand their worries but we cannot put the blame on them (China girls) alone. We have maids from other countries, so why target China girls? It can happen even with an Indonesian or Filipino maid. If the man wants to be ‘naughty’, he’ll just go for it.
WM: Are China girls really more appealing to Malaysian Chinese men?
Chong: They share a common language and culture but more importantly, they are very manja (endearing). Also, they are very feminine, and know how to please a man. They’re like that by nature. That’s why GROs from China are popular.
WM: Is it right to bring them in?
Chong: We have to look at the problem from all sides. Our women have legitimate concerns but we must realise there are victims among China girls due to the actions of local men.
My office handles 10 to 20 cases a month where China girls seek help for various problems.
Anyone can break up a marriage, so I urge our women to not be worried about this. Our Malaysian women must also not take their husbands for granted.
WM: Would you hire a maid from China?
Chong: Why not? It would be up to my wife. I may consider getting one to help out in my office like serving tea and cleaning up. Please remember that maids from China need not only have to work in Chinese homes.