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CONFERENCING 1 (15%)
• GUIDING QUESTIONS FOR CONFERENCING 1 (GRADED)
After presenting your article and listening to your group members’ article on the topic,
choose an area of the topic that you would like to do more research on. Present it during
the conferencing. The area you propose must be different from other group members.
Use this information chart to help you.

Which area of the topic interests me the The area of the topic that interests me the
most? most is what is maid abuse.

It is interesting as this can deepen the

Why is it interesting? readers’ knowledge regarding maid abuse
and raise awareness that maid abuse is a
matter that should be taken seriously.

How is it similar or different from other My topic area is different in the aspect that
group member’s area of interest? it provides deeper insight regarding what is
maid abuse.

I would like to know the definition of maid

What more do I want to know about it? abuse, examples of some perennial maid
abuse cases and whether maids are
necessities.

How do I plan to look for further I plan to look for information by using
information? search engines and searching for news
articles.

5. ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Additional source #2
Background of the source
Title: Maid Abuse Cases Still a Worry
Here https://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/mai
Author: Ronald Loh d-abuse-cases-still-worry-here
Year: 2016
Source: Latest Singapore News
Summarize the main ideas and
arguments

Maid abuse cases are on the rise with

a total of 9 cases reported within a year. It
was reported that there were 26 maid abuse
cases filed in 2014, almost double of that in
2012. One of the infamous cases was the
incident in which a couple took turns to
abuse their 31-year-old maid during early
January in 2015. In spite of this, the
culprits are only given by the court a slap
on the wrist in which the woman was
sentenced to a week’s jail while her
husband was jailed for 14 weeks. It can be
depicted that week law enforcement has
brought about escalating cases of maid
abuse.
Main Ideas
Maid abuse cases occur due to several
reasons. According to Ms Shirley Ng,
owner of Orange Employment Agency,
abuse cases happen due to a
misunderstanding between employers and
maids. A breakdown in communication
also lead to maid abuse. The existence of a
possible language barrier between
employers and their maids causes
difficulties in communication.

From another perspective, maids

nowadays are different from those who
came to seek for a living 1 to 2 decades
 ago. They are more concerned about their
own needs and are not used to hardships.
As such, employers will come to the
conclusion that their maids are not
performing up to their expectations and
lash out their anger on their maids. In light
of this, communication played a vital role
in addressing this problem. Employers
should make an effort to understand that
their maids are humans too and cannot
possibly do everything perfectly.

Which ideas/arguments are the most

interesting to you and why?
The third main idea, which is the change in
the behaviour of maids in today’s
generation, sparks my interest the most.
This idea is interesting as it shows that
maids nowadays are more aware of their
needs. They are much more educated and
know to voice out their disappointments or
problems by lodging police reports or
complaints regarding their employers who
treated them unjustly. This idea caught my
interest as it is also a turning point for
employers in which they should realise that
maids are not their slaves and have the
rights to be treated as what they deserve.
Critical Review The employers have to manage their
expectations they had on their maids.

Which ideas/arguments do you disagree

with or have doubts on and why?
The idea that I have doubts on is the idea in
which communication difficulties between
employers and maids brought about maid
abuse. In my sole opinion, I disagree as
there are still several approaches that can
be taken if such problem persists. For
instance, the employers could hire
translators or they can opt to change for
other maids instead of performing such
inhumane actions on their maids.

What is your stand on the issue?

In light of this, I think that maid abuse
 cases should be addressed properly and the
public should deepen their knowledge
regarding what is maid abuse and how they
should contact the authorities if maid abuse
occurs.

Additional Source #3
Background of the source
Title: Swiss Ambassador Calls Out
Malaysia’s Terrible Maid Abuse Record
https://asiancorrespondent.com/2018/02
Author: Lee Lian Kong
/malaysia-migrant-abuse/
Year: 2018
Source: Asian Correspondent (Asia’s
Leading Independent News)
Summarize the main ideas and
arguments.

Despite the consistent occurrence of

maid abuse in Malaysia, another case of
maid abuse has been brought to the light
again after an ambassador of Switzerland
called it out. Following the recent death of
Indonesian Adelina Lisao, 26, who was
allegedly abused at her employer’s house
in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, this has let the
public left to wonder why such brutal
actions still took place in Malaysia without
any punishment given to the culprits. When
Adelina was rescued from her employer’s
Main Ideas
home, she was reported to have been
tortured and forced to sleep with the
employer’s dog for over a month.
The increasing cases of maid abuse has
led to implementation of regulations to
protect domestic workers. Nonetheless,
enforcement of rules to safeguard domestic
workers is rare according to the rights
groups. As such, maid abuse cases are still
occurring in huge figures. This can be
proven from the incident in which 62
migrant Indonesian workers were found
dead last year in Malaysia from East Nusa
Tenggara. It can be seen that weak law
enforcement has caused maid abuse cases
 in the limelight.

A ban has been introduced to prevent

more maid abuse cases from happening.
Indonesia’s Labour Minister, Hanif
Dhakiri has implemented this ban against
sending its citizens to work in Malaysia
until the Malaysian legal system is made
better. This was to restructure the
employment system in Indonesia to
decrease the occurrence of more cases
alike Adelina Lisao’s.

Which ideas/arguments are the most

interesting to you and why?

The idea that ignites my interest the most

is the idea in which Indonesian citizens
were banned by Indonesia itself from
working in Malaysia as domestic workers.
This is interesting as it shows that the
inhumane acts carried out by Malaysian
employers to their Indonesian maids has
angered Indonesia. This has proven that the
Malaysian government should reinforce
rules to protect domestic workers.

Critical Review
Which ideas/arguments do you disagree
with or have doubts on and why?

The idea in which I strongly disagree was

the idea in which several regulations were
introduced following the cases of maid
abuse. As maid abuse cases are still
prevalent, this has shown that the laws
should be reinforced and not just by
introducing few lenient rules. Heavy
punishments should be imposed on the
culprits to steer awareness among the
public. The rules should be imposed before
maid abuse cases occur and not after.

What is your stand on the issue?

 In light of this, I strongly believe that the
cases of maid abuse that we observe are
just at the tip of the iceberg. To fully mull
a stop at maid abuse, more proactive steps
should be taken by both the public and the
authorities.

Additional Source #4
Background of the source
Title: Maids : Essential, or a Luxury?
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore
Author: Rachel Au-Yong
/maids-essential-or-a-luxury
Year: 2016
Source:The Straits Times
Summarize the main ideas and
arguments.

The existence of maids in households

has more or less become a special boon.
Among some of the roles played by maids
include keeping the house clean, looking
after children of their employers, ensuring
that the elderly in the household take their
medication on time and so forth. A lot of
Singaporeans opt to hire maids to
smoothen their households.
Main Ideas
Singaporeans had grown too reliant on
their maids. Maids should be hired based
on one’s needs. For those with sick, aged
parents , maids are a need to lighten their
burden. For the rest, they can still run their
households pretty well without hiring
maids by just adjusting their time and
working harder such as waking up earlier
to prepare breakfast for their family.

Which ideas/arguments are the most

interesting to you and why?

Critical Review The idea that has caught my interest is the

idea in which it has raised awareness
whether maids are necessities for
Singaporeans. Some who can do just the
same without maids should quit hiring
maids. This idea is interesting as it is a
wake-up call for Singaporeans to stand on
their own two feet instead of relying solely
on their maids.

Which ideas/arguments do you disagree

with or have doubts on and why?
The idea that is not to my liking is the idea
in which some people consider maids as
essentials although they can do better
without their maids. They should become
aware that they should think twice before
hiring maids as they are humans too.

What is your stand on the issue?

In light of this, I believe that people should
think carefully before hiring maids. They
should weigh the pros and cons of hiring
maids before doing so. When they have
hired maids, they should play their vital
parts in caring for their maids by treating
them as domestic helpers instead of slaves.