Having had bad experiences with Indonesian maids, my wife and I decided to apply for a Filipino to help care for our infant child. Our application was rejected by the Immigration Department on the basis that Muslim families can only hire a Muslim maid.
When lodging an appeal at the Immigration Department in Putrajaya, we were informed that this was departmental policy and any questions would have to be put to their legal affairs bureau. We have since been told that our appeal has been rejected on the same grounds.
This policy is objectionable, not because we are desperate for a Filipino, but on principle. It is our prerogative who we invite into our home. Why should faceless bureaucrats decide who we can and cannot hire to look after our only child? Perhaps they should also mandate that we only hire a Muslim driver, or gardener, and tell us who we can and cannot befriend.
Maybe they feel the need to act as moral guardians, protecting our impressionable children from the subtle influences of a non-Muslim carer. Well, we will now hire a local Chinese amah instead, and it is my sincerest hope she will impart to my child acceptance and respect for other religions and cultures, as well as the basics of Mandarin.
It will cost a lot more, but as any loving parent knows, price is no object when it comes to the welfare of our children. We would have preferred an English speaking (and cheaper) Filipino, but they leave us with no option. My wife and I both work full-time and this person will spend more time alone with our child than we will.
We also object to the lack of transparency. When questioning the basis of this policy and where it is stated for public access and scrutiny, the only response offered was to take the matter up with legal affairs. They can rest assured we shall, but regulations that impact citizen's private lives must be defensible and made public.
Why can't we decide how we run our own home, or must we allow an Orwellian bureaucracy to intrude upon our personal lives, micro-managing our choices? What grates further is that we know of Malay families with Filipino maids, which implies double standards at best, and at worst, corruption.
