I can understand the exasperation of Egalitarian Malay who was stopped by the Immigration officials from hiring a Filipino maid after a series of bad experiences with Indonesian maids. As a Muslim, our friend should realise the dangers of asking a non-Muslim to look after their child.

Being a non-Muslim, the maid could bring pork into the house despite being told that it is against Islam. She could do it stealthily, if not raw pork, then other non-halal foodstuff, and she may even feed your child with them.

Remember, since you and your wife are busy earning money, your child is looked after by a non-Muslim maid perhaps 20 hours a day. I am sure most non-Muslim families will not be keen to employ a Muslim maid to look after their toddlers.

This is more to do with your berputus asa , or losing hope, in your fellow Muslims, and despite your good intentions, you may end up failing in your duty to bring up your children as good Muslims.

By employing a Muslim, you are helping a fellow Muslim. My suggestion is that Egalitarian Malay can still employ a Filipino maid. Spend a bit of money and go to Muslim Mindanao where there are a lot of Muslim girls, women and widows looking for jobs to alleviate the hardship of their families.