i am one of the thousands of Malaysians who have used Indonesian maids since I first had a child 15 years ago. I employed four Indonesian maids since then and have the fifth one now. I should thank them for enabling me to continue with my career, which demands a lot of my time and energy even when I am at home.

What is my opinion about Indonesian maids? I suppose even in our marriage we cannot expect a perfect spouse, but as long as the basic principles are adhered to with no gross blunders made... life goes on and pray to God that we make our best decision and things are made easy for us.

I am writing in response to Indonesian government's plan to demand higher salaries for them, which politically would seem that you are really fighting for their welfare.

Recently I sent my maid home for vacation leave in conjunction with the Idul Adha holiday. Initially I offered her 2 months, simply to train my eldest children, who were on school holidays then, and to manage the house chores, but surprisingly the maid declined. She said two weeks was enough. So we bought her return tickets and we prepared a special letter to certify she worked for us and that we had allowed her to take the leave, endorsed by Malaysian immigration.

Unfortunately on the day we expected her to come back to Malaysia, she suddenly called us, apparently from Jakarta airport, mentioning she was stuck there because the Indonesian immigration office demanded she pay a hefty sum of RM1,000, which is a lot even for me, what's more for my maid, who had used up all her salary for her family in Indonesia (we never kept a single cent of her money).

Actually a RM500 monthly salary is good enough wages that they can use to help their families back home in Indonesia. Efficient maids can rest in the afternoons, especially if they work with a family that does not have small children.

So, ladies and gentlemen, fighting for your workers is more than demanding for a minimum salary of RM800 which many people in Malaysia cannot afford, but protecting your maids also includes empowering them with competency and skills, recognizing their rights (from agencies and future employers), making them feel secure and comfortable . and realizing that demanding RM1,000 airport tax from a house maid is ridiculous.