The price of hiring Indonesian maids

The Star reports today the cost of hiring Indonesian maids may cost more. Association of Foreign Housemaids Agencies (Papa) president Datuk Raja Zulkepley Dahalan warned that employers may soon have to fork out up to RM8,000 to hire an Indonesian maid. The monthly salary of maids in the following countries are compared:

Taiwan RM2,400

Hong Kong RM1,700

Singapore RM700-800

Brunei RM700-800

Malaysia RM550

At face value, we may think Malaysia has the lowest maid salaries but did you know in terms of wealth these countries rank high above Malaysia? Check out this article from International Herald Tribune. In 2007, Brunei's (about USD30,058) GDP per capita is 2.33 times higher than Malaysia's (USD12,900) and Hong Kong's (USD37,300) is 2.9 times higher. Singapore (USD31,400) is about 2.4 times higher. With more wealth, comes more spending power, hence we can't compare wages in this manner.

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