maid treatment

Help needed for Research

2012-02-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

Ari from Indonesia is doing a research about maids working in Singapore.

Ari wrote :

"This research hopefully will identified gaps and tension between employers and employee, and how Indonesia government and people could do to eliminate that situations."

"My study as I mentioned before is to see how is the personal relationship between employers and employee (migrant domestic workers), and how do you feel about caring activities delivered in the households, for example, how do you feel about your child taken care by strangers. I will also try to analyze the connection with the government policy (MoM especially) in affecting household hiring migrant workers. I notice there are some huge concerns on how the MoM actually not really protect employers."

Ari is very interested to interview any employers in Singapore. Please email her at aryanisantoso@gmail.com if you are keen to meet her.

Singaporean employers face unfair policies

2012-02-11T19:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a summary of the policies that are unfair to employers in Singapore. Please feel free to comment if you have more to add to the following list.

1. Security bond conditions :

For many years, employers are required to pay $5000 of security bond if the maid becomes pregnant. This rule was removed only in Oct 2009 : Change in security bond conditions

This is the main reason why many employers are not willing to give their maids off days. Unless an employer has millions of dollars in her bank account, $5000 is a large sum of money to lose. Although the rule has been removed recently, it is difficult for employers to change their mindset.

However, under the new security bond conditions :
In cases where the FDW absconds, only half the Security Bond ($2500), instead of the entire bond of $5000, will be forfeited, so long as the employer has made reasonable efforts to locate the worker.

This is the reason why employers cannot let their maids go out whenever they like, because if the maid disappears, then employers are going to lose money. Since the maids are human beings just like us, why do we need to be responsible for what happens to them on their off days ? Our employers do not need to lose any money if we disappear.

2. Medical Care
(Source)

As an employer, you are responsible for your FDW’s medical needs. You are required to bear the full cost of her medical care should she require medical treatment, including hospitalisation.

As a result of this rule, even if your maid had a medical condition before she came to work for you, and when she fell ill again due to the same condition, you are responsible for all her medical fees.

The following case was reported in the New Paper :

"In March, another family disputed their Filipino maid's $1,000 Institute of Mental Health bill as they subsequently discovered she had previously been warded in a mental hospital in her home country."

If your maid has not been taking care of her teeth properly, and when she complains of toothache, you must pay for her dental visit.

3. Repatriation
(Source)

You should give your FDW reasonable notice of her repatriation to her home country and bear the full cost of her repatriation.

If your maid comes to work for 3 days, refuses to do anything, then ask to go home, you must pay for her air ticket back home. Otherwise you will lose your security bond.

4. Changing more than four FDWs in a year
(Source)

Employers who are applying for their fifth FDW within a 12-month period must attend the Classroom EOP.

Employers who apply for their sixth or subsequent FDW within a 12-month period must attend an interview with an MOM officer before the Ministry processes the Work Permit application. The interview will allow the Ministry to gain an understanding of the employer's practices to assess the application.

I personally know of a maid who has changed 10 employers in 2 years and still get her work permit approved easily. Why is it that MOM does not bother to interview the maid to gain an understanding of what is the problem with her ? Why does MOM always assume that it is the employer's fault ?

5. Maid Loan

The employer must fully pay for the maid's loan before she arrives in Singapore. This maid loan is about $3440, and the maid is supposed to have a large part of her salary deducted for the first 8 to 10 months in order to repay the employer. If the maid is unhappy with the employer, she can ask to transfer to a new employer. The new employer must pay for the balance of her maid loan. If the maid decides that she wants to go home, then the employer will lose the maid loan.

Since maids do not need to pay anything before they come to work in Singapore, and they know that it is very easy to change employers, most maids are not motivated to work hard.

In Hong Kong and Taiwan, maids must fully pay for their loan before they leave their home country. They have probably taken up loans from their friends or relatives, so they have no choice but to work hard.

The maid loan is the root of most problems with maids in Singapore. According to MOM, the maid loan is an agreement between the maid agencies and the employers, and MOM cannot do anything about it. The maid agencies band together to force all employers to pay the maid loan. This is very unfair to the employers, and the situation is not going to improve unless the government step in to change things.

6. Maid Levy

Employers in Singapore are required to pay the government a levy of $265 every month. If the employer has young children or elderly, the levy is $170. My understanding is that employers in Hong Kong and Taiwan are not required to pay such levy. Why are we made to pay levy every month ? What has been done to help employers ?

Anyone who is concerned about whether maids face any unfair policies in Singapore, please read the following report :
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

You will find out that MOM has many rules to protect the maids.

Last edited on 11 Feb 2012.

Jakarta plans to stop sending maids by 2017

2012-01-05T04:29:00.000-08:00

The following report is published in the Straits Times on 5 Jan 2012.

'Roadmap' aims to ensure maids are treated like other workers who venture abroad

By Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Indonesia Correspondent

BACKGROUND STORY

Indonesians account for almost half of Singapore's 200,000-plus maids, and 80 per cent of Malaysia's 350,000 maids.

If it is carried out, however, it could mean a massive shortage of maids for places like Singapore and Malaysia, both of which rely heavily on domestic workers from Indonesia.

Indonesians account for almost half of Singapore's 200,000-plus maids, and 80 per cent of Malaysia's 350,000 maids.

Jakarta - Indonesia is looking to stop sending its nationals to work as maids abroad by 2017, under a 'roadmap' it is drawing up to reform and formalise its domestic worker sector.

Under the Domestic Worker Roadmap 2017, it wants to ensure maids are treated like other workers when they work abroad - earning minimum wages, getting leave and working fixed hours, for example.

The plan is part of a larger aim to raise the skills of the thousands of Indonesians going overseas to work, according to the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry.

'Under the roadmap, we target zero sending out of domestic maids,' Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar was quoted by news reports as saying on Wednesday.

He acknowledged, however, that the task would be a challenging one, as most Indonesians seeking jobs abroad are low-skilled.

Some criticised the idea for being difficult to implement.

The roadmap comes amid ongoing efforts by Jakarta to address maid abuse abroad.

In 2009, Indonesia banned maids from going to Malaysia following a spate of abuse cases. The ban was lifted last year after Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur hammered out an agreement on a slew of measures to better protect maids working in Malaysia.

Jakarta was also reported to be reviewing which countries it will allow maids to work in.

About 650,000 Indonesians leave home every year to work as maids abroad, many of them from East Java and West Nusa Tenggara provinces.

Under the roadmap being drawn up, Jakarta could require host countries to spell out job specifications for maids clearly.

'They should be placed in specific positions such as cook, housekeeper or caregiver,' Mr Muhaimin was quoted by Bernama as saying.

He added that these workers should also enjoy the usual rights that their formal counterparts get, such as predetermined working hours, leave, minimum wages and 'social guarantees'.

But the minister also acknowledged that Jakarta would have to deal with several challenges when implementing the plan, including providing alternative jobs in Indonesia.

Some 45 per cent of the country's 120 million-strong workforce have no more than primary school education, the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry noted.

Mr Muhaimin said the government was working to enhance the skills and competency levels of the country's workers in the industrial and creative economic sectors.

Critics, however, said the roadmap was unworkable.

Activist Syaiful Anas at the Jakarta-based Migrant Care, a non-governmental group that looks out for migrant workers, said the government should improve the protection of maids instead of trying to stop them from going overseas to work.

The plan, he charged, contradicts a recent statement by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that Indonesia recognises maids as belonging to a proper profession.

'It's hard to believe Muhaimin made such statements... we all know there are still many who need to be maids,' he told The Straits Times.

Mr Rusjdi Basalamah, who owns and runs an agency that sends maids overseas, also doubted that the plan would work.

'We now have a moratorium in place on the sending of maids to certain Middle Eastern countries, but many have still gone there illegally and the government could not do anything about it,' he said.

The internet savvy maids

2011-12-05T22:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the recent report about my blog in the Straits Times, many maids have discovered my blog and posted comments here. I admit that I am surprised to find out that maids now can afford to own iPhones. With 3G plans, they are able to access the internet freely.

In a recent news report : Employers asked to remove CCTVs from maids' rooms, two maids posted comments on MOM facebook page complaining that their employers installed CCTV to monitor them. MOM promptly contacted the employers and asked them to remove the CCTV.

The new generation of maids are perhaps more internet savvy than their employers, especially if their employers are over 50 years old.

Personally I don't think there is any problem with maids using iPhones and accessing the internet, but I wonder whether these maids are here to earn money or spend money. They are certainly not earning too little otherwise how can they afford iPhones ?

I have copied some comments posted by maids from other pages here. Abby also has her own blog.
I do agree with what the maids wrote, like "maid are clever not stupid", and that they use Singapore as a stepping stone.

Comments by maids :

Anonymous said...

To all MAIDS and EMPLOYER,

I am a MAID,I knew this website after reading an article in ST. My view is, we need you as you need us too.When we first come to Singapore, what we wished is to have a good Employer to work with, I conclude this is your wish too,to have a good maid to look after your children and love ones..We are Humans not an Object or Toys.We all have our differences towards attitude & character as individual. We aren't perfect when we do our chores we bound to have mistakes.Forgive as when we are so slow to catch up your instruction, forgive as when we do not meet your high standard and expectation.We are always willing to learn if you had the willingness to be open to us by communicating and be openly tell us what you want,what you need & what you dislike..In short,it's a Golden Rule here internally and external. I have a very good employer I worked with her family for almost 8 years.. My employer always appreciate me, she is always thankful to have a maid like me as they are working parents..We have a very important rules in your household,hope u realised that, we have a great responsibility when we brought your children to School,Markets even in playground or simply just at home everyday,We are responsible for the safety of your children,your aged parents when you hire us as your maid. It's just very simple,treat us as what u want to be treated too.More than 200,000 Foreign Domestic Workers here,less than 50 percent are abusing their employers every year.And it's untrue that MOM and Homes are always defending us. MOM and Homes also protects employers.There is no right or wrong when you all talked about us (this is human nature)as we do not denied when we talked about you in our sms either good or bad comments but we are not gossiping about you ,we are just sharing's our experience & problems to our friend we are always talked about our own personal problems (hope you don't always thinks that we are badmouthing you).This is our way of releasing our emotion and to heal our homesickness. We do not want to end up mental incapacity here. It's invade to our privacy to spill out our Passport # and Work permit.Instead of finger pointing whose victim or not a victim here,why not create a solution to improve maid and employer relationship,solution how to avoid potential abusive maid/employer before it may occur.We also have our dignity and integrity. Thanks Madam Tamarind for this website you have created it helps us too to learn how lucky we are to be treated nicely by our employers compare to my other colleague, this website help us to reflect & to know what our fellow maids are doing to and to learned from that experienced as well.We hope lets respect each other her. Thank you so much...

November 29, 2011 10:29 AM

Anonymous said...

Maid are human too , i am maid from indonesia, i just want to say if you dont like the maid or upset just send her to the agency , and dont hired maid , dont gossip about other people , some day if some body talk bad about you how ! Now maid are clever not stupid and i have one of experiment , when first time i come here my first employer say i am stupid, pig, that is very upseting me , now my second employer are very good , give me nice food , rest , lett me use iphone ,

November 28, 2011 10:22 PM

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I'm an Indonesian maid. I think it's all the same. There are good employers and bad employers. I just wanna share my own experienced whereby my first employers were bad like a devil from the hell. I should have put my urine into their soup. It was my first time working in Singapore with a chinese family who stayed at Malvin Spring Condominium at Onan Road. They treated me so badly by making me sleep on the floor without mattress and blanket beside their dog. I can only took my lunch at 6pm and sometimes with rotten rice, I had no choice to eat it as I was hungry. My dinner was only at 1am, I had to wash their two cars at 12am and sometimes they didn't open the door after I finished washing the cars and I had to wait for an hour infront of the door. I slept only at 3am and woke up at 6am every day. I had to eat on the floor and my shoulders should not lean on the walls. When they went out they would bring me along as they are afraid I might eat their food. When we ate outside they didn't allow me to sit together but will asked me to sit far away from them and sometimes they didn't buy food for me. They would only cooked rice for me after we returned home. If they left me at home, they would sealed the power button of the stove. When we went to the market at Marine Parade, their two evil daughters age between 12yrs and 15 yrs old forced me to carry the heavy stuffs such as rice and bottles of soft drinks while their trolley were only filled with light stuffs. Both my arms and hands were hurting and I was not allowed to rest while walking from Marine Parade to Onan Road. Finally, one day when the evil mother asked me to buy newspaper, I used this opportunity to call my agent. I asked $0.10 from a girl to make the phone call. I told my agent about it and my agent asked me to be patient and wait for three months. When 3 months past, my agent called my evil employers up and request them to send me back to the agency.
That was my the story 5 years ago. Now, my second employer(current), treats me like her own family whom consists only a mother and a son. We eat together and when we eat outside I can choose whatever in the menu that I like. There are not much work to be done. I washes only her son's and my clothes in the washing machine and drying it in the dryer after that. His mother's clothes are only sent to the laundry. All the dishes I washed using the dishwasher. They worked from 9am to 10 pm++. Every day I'm alone at home and they allow me to take some courses such as A levels at Singapore Indonesian School on Sundays and N levels at the ITE on weekdays(evening) from 7pm to 10 pm 4x a week as I'm taking four subjects. I'm using an iPhone 4 under the StarHub dataplan with 2 years contract and it's under her son's name. He pays for the monthly subscription. I think I'm very lucky to have such an employer like her. Thanks a lot mom.

November 30, 2011 7:49 PM

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I am a degree holder from the Philippines and yet I became a maid. At first i was ashamed of it but then I realized, there's nothing to be ashamed of because this is a decent job but as i read your blog i felt upset and disgraced.I guess saying that employers are the one who suffers the most is a bit too much. Likewise, maids are often the victims. This blog shows that we are looked down upon. One rotten apple in a box of apples doesnt mean all the rest are rotten. You must dig out and choose isnt it?. It is such a pity that people from this developed country has narrowed their mind. And we maids cannot even depend ourselves of such accusations which are sometimes false. You cannot just jump into conclusions that we are all 'bad'. I think you are a perfectionist. One more thing a good maid-employer relationship lies on trust, respect and tolerance. I am saddened by the fact that we are slammed and belittle by our fellow Asians just because perhaps we came from less- developed countries. Lastly I would like to reiterate, the CREDIBILITY OF A MAID DEPENDS ON THE IMPARTIALITY OF EMPLOYERS TO PASS JUDGEMENT.

November 29, 2011 6:35 PM

Settling-In Programme to replace English test for foreign maids

2011-12-04T05:41:00.000-08:00

The following is published in the Straits Times on 4 Dec 2011.

By Shuli Sudderuddin

The mandatory Entry Test in English for Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs) will be scrapped by mid 2012 to be replaced with a mandatory Settling-In Programme (SIP).

The SIP programme will include the current half-day Safety Awareness Course and include new components on adapting to living and working in Singapore, as well as conditions of employment and responsibilities of the FDW.

Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister of State for Manpower and National Development, said that consultations and surveys showed that four out of five FDWs faced problems settling down to life and work in Singapore.

He added that a Ministry of Manpower review found that the English test was not a meaningful measure of quality or understanding of the English language.

Failing the test, which would lead to repatriation after three attempts, could also cause distress.

Other entry requirements, such as the minimum age requirement of 23 years and the minimum education requirement of eight years of formal education, are retained.

About my blog

2011-12-03T17:51:00.000-08:00

My intention of creating this blog is to connect with other employers who have bad experiences with maids. I want to provide a platform where employers can share our experiences managing maids, so that we can learn from each other. Those employers who have been following my blog know exactly what my blog is all about.

However, there were news reports in CNN and Straits Times recently about my blog, written by reporters who do not bother to read my blog thoroughly, and simply lifted sentences completely out of context from my blog. This has resulted in a large number of new readers to my blog, so I feel that I should write about why I created this blog and a summary of what this blog is about.

I originally created this blog to share about : How to manage a maid, selecting a maid, selecting a maid agency, Cost of employing a maid, Renewing maid work permit/ passport. Regarding off days, I wrote in 2007 : "No one can work everyday for years without any rest. I advise employers to give off days to their maids whenever possible." Note that all maids have the freedom to choose whether they want off days or not : Present policy on days off for maids work. If a maid must have off days every week, she can always find an employer who allows it. However, many maids choose to have no off days, or only one off day a month, because they prefer to be paid a higher salary in compensation.

In "The miserable life of a full time working mother in Singapore", I wrote about why maids are a necessity, not a luxury for many couples who wish to have kids, as well as families who have elderly. In "About my maids", I wrote about the 8 maids I have employed before and why I had to send 7 maids away. I do not have high expectations, I only need the maid to cook for herself, to keep the floor clean, and to make sure that my kids are not hurt. My 8th maid has worked in my family for over 5 years, and she is a wonderful maid. My advise to employers is that there are good maids out there, but we have to keep changing in order to find a good one.

In the topic "What is a good employer ?", I wrote : I believe that as employers, it is important to treat maids in the same way as our employers treat us. I advise employers to pay your maid a higher salary if you can afford it, make sure that you give her a reasonable workload, and sufficient rest.

In "Misconceptions about maids", I wrote about why it is wrong to consider maids as slaves in Singapore.

The current system of employing maids in Singapore is very unfair to employers. We know nothing about the maid, except for the bio-data written by the maid herself. Click this website to see an example : Netmaid

Most employers do not have a chance to interview the maid face to face, because the maid is not allowed to enter Singapore before her work permit is approved by MOM.

Before we even meet the maid, we have to fully pay for the maid's loan of $3440, as well as the agency fees of a few hundred dollars. The maid can come to the employer's house, stay for a few days, refuse to do any work, and then ask to go home. MOM requires the employer to pay for the maid's air ticket back to the home country. The employer will lose the few thousand dollars of maid loan. The employer will need to pay the maid loan, agency fee, insurance, etc all over again to employ another maid.

Even if the maid slaps your baby really hard, or pinch your kids in front of you, there is nothing that you can do to her, except to send her away. You cannot make a police report or complain to MOM, because you cannot prove what she has done since there may not be serious physical injuries on your child. If she has not finished repaying her maid loan, you have no choice but to send her back to the agency to be transferred to a new employer. If the maid cannot find a new employer, the maid agency will never refund the maid loan to you. The result is that bad maids are being recycled from one employer to another.

I created another blog, "Comments about maids by Employers in Singapore", so that employers can write comments about their maids and warn other employers. The latest post in this blog is about a maid who pinched the thigh of a 2 year old girl very hard, resulting in a very serious bruise. This blog also includes a video of a maid slapping a 3.5 month old baby. Click here to see the video. The employer of a maid who beat and kicked his father wrote this in my blog :
"I’m preparing myself to bring this matter to MOM to blacklist this monster maid. But initial response from the MOM is (as usual) not an encouraging one. They will take more than 30 days to make a decision even after I gave them all relevant materials. I am still aiming to get this maid to be blacklisted. But how long is it going to be I really do not know. Mean time there is a danger that this monster maid may come back to Singapore as an angel."

My intention was for employers to check the list of maids in my blog before they decide to employ any maid. The "Comments about maids" blog is never meant for viewing by the general public. It is never meant for public shaming of the maids. Good maids who have done nothing wrong have no reasons to worry about this blog. Anyone who does not intend to employ maids should have no business reading this blog at all. I have also never stopped any maid from defending herself in this blog.

The comments about maids are written by their own employers, her work permit number is included because there may be many other maids with the same name. MOM allows any Singaporean to check the employment history of any maid using her work permit number on the MOM website, implying that the work permit number is not meant to be private to the maid only. However, the records only show the number of past employers and the length of employment. There are no explanations about why a maid left her previous employer. I have checked that a number of maids in the "comments about maids" blog have already found new employers.

I have now made the "Comments about maids by Employers in Singapore" blog private only to myself. Anyone concerned about employing a maid who can potentially harm your babies/toddlers/elderly, can email me at frostyapple@gmail.com. Please send me the full name of the maid that you are going to employ and I will let you view the comments of that maid only, if it exists in my blog. You can show these comments to the maid you are going to employ, so that she has a chance to defend herself.

I have also made the "Singapore Maid Agency Reviews" blog private. Please email me if you need any information about a specific maid agency.

Added on 28 Dec 2011:
I have received new comments about maids from other employers. I have included the new comments in my "Comments about maids" blog, and I welcome all employers to continue sending comments to me at frostyapple@gmail.com.

Many people do not believe that what the employers wrote about their maids is true. The fact is that we spend a lot of money to employ a maid, and we lose a lot of money when we change a maid. Every maid in the "Comments about maids" blog has been sent away by her employer. It does not make sense for an employer to send the maid away if she is doing a good job, and then spend so much time writing bad comments about her.

We are paying the maids a salary to work for us. If a maid performs very badly, we have the rights to complain, and we have the rights to warn other people about her.

As for maids who are unhappy with their employers, do not think that they suffer in silence. They could slap and pinch babies/toddlers who cannot tell you what has happened to them, or they could mix urine into the drinking water for the employer's family, etc. These cases were reported in the newspapers.

I have read a few comments questioning why is it that I have the time to write my blogs, since I am a full time working mother. Although my work is very tiring, I do have short periods of free time during office hours. I often wake up very early at 5 am to write my blogs. I used to work as a software engineer for many years, and I can type very fast, so I do not have to spend a lot of time on my blogs. The maid blog was created in 2007, and the articles were written over a period of 5 years.

Thanks to my maid who has worked with me for over 5 years, I do not have to do any housework when I return home everyday, and I can focus on teaching my kids. This is the reason why a good maid is a necessity for a full time working mother. It is ridiculous for anyone to expect a woman to spend all her time on work and family, and no time to pursue her passion. Teaching my children, and writing my blogs, are my passions.

New bank scheme for Indonesian maids (30 Nov 2011)

2011-11-29T15:39:00.000-08:00

The following article is published in the Straits Times on 30 Nov 2011.

By Amanda Tan

(Source)

BACKGROUND STORY

NOW

Employers here pay the placement fee to agencies here when the maid arrives.

To recover that amount, they pay the maids only a small proportion of their salaries - often $10 or $20 - for the first eight months or so, before the maids start getting their full pay.

UNDER NEW SCHEME

Maids will set up an account with Bank Negara Indonesia, which can pay the placement fee on their behalf first.

The bank will stretch out the repayment period so less of the maid's salary needs to be deducted each month, leaving her with more money to spare.

INDONESIAN maids working here will get to keep more of their salaries in their first few months here, if a new banking scheme by the Indonesian government takes off.

Employers will also no longer need to foot the maid's placement fees first, so there is a lower risk of losing money if the maid disappears.

The maids can also use the scheme to save money or make use of micro-loans to start small businesses when they go back to Indonesia.

The scheme is being billed as the People Business Credit for Indonesian Migrant Workers. In Singapore, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) will manage it.

A briefing on the scheme was held at the Indonesian Embassy here on Monday. About 175 people attended, including representatives from the bank, employment agencies and the Manpower Ministry.

Mr Fahmi Aris, the first secretary at the Indonesian Embassy here, said the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs in Indonesia is in charge of the scheme.

Mr Edy Awaludin, vice-president of the retail business division at BNI in Jakarta, told The Straits Times that the scheme is likely to be made available early next year. He said Singapore will be the first country to implement it.

The initiative comes at a time when Indonesia is facing pressure to improve the welfare of its migrant workers, following reports of maid abuse.

There are about 201,000 maids in Singapore, the majority of whom are from Indonesia and the Philippines.

Maids have to pay a placement fee when they come to Singapore. This averages $3,000 for Indonesians and includes fees for Indonesian recruiters, medical check-ups and processing of documents.

Maid agencies here can also charge a commission of up to two months of the maid's pay as part of the placement fee.

Currently, employers here pay that placement fee to agencies here when the maid arrives. To recover that amount, they pay the maid only a small proportion of their salary - often $10 or $20 - for the first eight months or so, before the maids start getting their full pay.

Under the new scheme, maids will set up an account with BNI, which can pay the placement fee on their behalf first.

Mr Fahmi said this will do away with the local agents who used to facilitate the loan process, as well as their commission, thus reducing the placement fee amount.

The bank will stretch out the repayment period, so less of the maid's salary needs to be deducted each month, leaving her with more money to spare.

Details like interest rates and how the salaries will be deposited into the account are being worked out.

Mr Fahmi added: 'Allowing them to earn some money each month gives them more motivation to work.'

Ms K. Jayaprema, president of the Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore), was supportive of the scheme. She said that having a bank account will encourage maids to save and when they go home, they can start small businesses.

'Currently, most maids do not have bank accounts. They keep their salary or they will remit it home and very often, it will be squandered by the time they return,' she added.

At Monday's briefing, however, agents pointed out that there is just one BNI branch here and asked if it would be able to cope. Others asked if the bank would require a minimum deposit.

Mr Jolovan Wham, executive director of welfare group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, said the scheme does not solve the fundamental problem of hefty placement fees, in part hiked by middlemen during the recruitment process.

'At the end of the day, they still have to shoulder the burden of a loan,' he said.

Indonesian helper Sulis, 25, liked the savings aspect of the scheme. 'If the maids have money, they will just spend it. It's good to have some savings here so they can have opportunities when they go home,' she said.

tamanda@sph.com.sg

Website for employers 'violates' privacy of maids

2011-11-28T18:50:00.000-08:00

My blog that contains comments about maids by Employers in Singapore is reported in the Straits Times on 29 Nov 11. The report did not explain why I created the blog.

The following video is included in the "comments about maids" blog. It shows a maid slapping a 3.5 month old baby. This maid has been repatriated, but not blacklisted by MOM. So she could easily get another job and potentially hurt another baby. I created the "comments about maids" blog so that employers who have babies and toddlers can avoid employing maids from hell.

Note: iPhone/iPad users, you need to find a Windows PC/laptop in order to view the video.

The following article is published in the Straits Times on 29 Nov 2011.

(Source)

A WEBSITE where employers can post the alleged misdeeds of their maids has drawn flak from a migrant worker rights' group, which says their privacy is being invaded.

Last week, Mr Jolovan Wham, executive director of the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), claimed that the site violated 'the rights and privacy' of maids by revealing details such as their names, and work permit and passport numbers.

This information appears along with lengthy posts of the maids' alleged misdeeds, under a section called 'Maid Reviews', on the site http://singaporemaid.blogspot.com

Describing it as a 'gross violation' in a Facebook post, Mr Wham called for the site to be removed.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times about the site, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday said it does not encourage employers to publish comments about their maids on their Facebook pages or blogs.

Instead, it urges both employers and maids to approach the ministry for help when conflicts arise.

A spokesman added that there are also 'civil routes for redress for the aggrieved party if the comments are defamatory, or in breach of a duty of confidence'.

The site was created by a 'full-time working mother in Singapore' who calls herself 'Tamarind'. It has six sections, including one that lists maid-related news articles. It is not clear when the blog went live.

'Tamarind' also writes regularly on subjects like how to select and manage maids. These pieces often attract comments - mostly agreeing with her - from as many as 30 readers.

She did not respond to efforts to contact her yesterday.

But in a report by The New Paper last year, she said she has not been sued nor received legal complaints from maids. She added that by warning others of her bad experiences, she was being 'ethical'.

Mr Wham, however, said the allegations listed by the employers were not verified.

He added that he had told a volunteer about the site and that her husband had written to MOM about it last month.

Home is monitoring the blog and is consulting its lawyers to explore possible courses of action, he said, but declined to give details.

Lawyer Chia Boon Teck said a maid can engage a lawyer to take legal action against her employer if she is wrongly accused of misdeeds, but recourse will not be easy.

'The maid may not be able to afford a lawyer, and it may not be easy for her to quantify her loss,' he said.

He added that there is 'no general legal duty to protect the personal particulars of another person'.

The maid may have legal recourse against a blogger for revealing her particulars only if they have a contractual relationship that contains a provision obliging the blogger to keep the maid's particulars confidential, he said. Such a provision, he added, is highly unlikely.

Lecturer Sandra Ng, 37, who uses the blog as a reference, thinks it is fair and does not contain offensive content.

Madam Ng, who has a maid, said it is common for blogs to contain photos. She added: 'It is essentially a site to help potential employers.'

MP Christopher de Souza, deputy chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower, said maids are not in an equal bargaining position when employers make negative comments about them online.

'If what is written about the maids is untrue, then it is extremely unfair as they will have no avenues to clarify their positions,' said Mr de Souza, who was alerted to the blog by a member of the public.

Mr Gary Chin, managing director of Nation Employment, also felt maids were at a disadvantage as they could not reply to the comments.

He said most employers still turn to agencies when they have problems with their maids.

Ms Nelly Baggay, 30, a Filipino maid who came here to work in 2007, said: 'If employers are not happy, they can tell us. If they write bad things about us in blogs, then it will be very hard for us to transfer to other employers.'

wenjian@sph.com.sg

BACKGROUND STORY

UNHAPPY? TELL US ABOUT IT

'If employers are not happy, they can tell us. If they write bad things about us in blogs, then it will be very hard for us to transfer to other employers.'

Ms Nelly Baggay, 30, a Filipino maid who came here to work in 2007

BACKGROUND STORY

Watching your maid's diet

On how much food a maid should have, Tamarind wrote in a post:

'I think as employers, we have to decide how much food is enough. We cannot be supplying unlimited food to our maid. Personally, this is what I would let my maid eat for lunch or dinner:

1. Up to two bowls of white rice

2. Up to two pieces of chicken/fish that is palm size

3. An egg

4. As much vegetables as she can eat

5. An apple, orange or banana

For breakfast, I will let her eat up to four pieces of bread and Milo or coffee. If my maid can eat all the above, I don't even bother giving her any snacks. I believe that she already has more than enough nutrition.

Just make sure that you give her enough food during meals, especially meat, then you have already done your best as an employer. Take a video of what you are serving her. There is no need to worry.'

The miserable life of a full time working mother in Singapore

2011-11-08T05:58:00.000-08:00

I feel compelled to write about my life as a full time working mother, because of many scathing remarks that I have heard. Some people compared us to mothers living in the United States who manage without live-in maids, and questioned why we cannot do the same. Other people commented that we are "purely lazy", and that we should do away with maids and do everything ourselves.

I realize that many people, especially those without babies or elderly, or those who can afford to stay at home to look after their babies, do not understand the problems faced by full time working mothers like myself.

Please note that my purpose of writing the following is to let everyone know that, even when we have maids to help us, it does not mean that we do nothing at home. In fact, working mothers like me are so busy that we barely have time to rest. My purpose is to let everyone understand that a maid is a necessity, not a luxury, for working mothers. My purpose is NOT to complain about how tough motherhood is. When I got married, I have planned carefully to have 2 kids. What I did not expect is how difficult it is to get a maid who can actually work, and the insecurity of jobs in Singapore. I have suffered a lot, but I have no regrets, because my kids' laughter is priceless.

In Singapore, the average monthly salary is $4677 before CPF deduction (Source). After deducting 20% CPF, the take home pay is only $3741. Monthly installment for housing loan can be over $1000, car loans another $1000, the cost of a good kindergarten is over $800 for half day, over $1300 for a full day programme (Source). For a family with kids, food, groceries, utilities, etc can easily add up to over $1000. A visit to the paediatrician can easily cost $100. Many parents also want to send their kids to enrichment classes, piano, swimming, etc which can cost a few hundred dollars for each child. In most families, both husband and wife must work in order to support the family, especially when they plan to have 2 kids or more. If the wife chooses to stay at home and only the husband goes to work, with an average salary of $3741 or less, even if the family can do without a car, no mother will tell you that it is a joy managing her household.

My husband and I both agreed that I should continue to work. Our plan is to employ a maid and asked my mother to help supervise her. When I was pregnant with my first child in 2003, I was working for an American MNC. We own a car but my husband's work place was far from mine. Everyday I took the MRT for about 50 minutes to travel to work, right up to the day before I delivered.

In 2003, I only had 8 weeks of maternity leave (Source). My baby girl had to be fed every 2 to 3 hours throughout the day and night. When I returned to work, there was no way that I could do the night feeding. My work as a software engineer was very demanding. I was under a lot of pressure to solve difficult problems quickly, I had to spend many hours standing at the production floor working on problems, and I often had to work over the weekends. If I had to wake up a few times a night, I would not have any energy to go to work. My mother helped to do the night feedings, while my maid took over during the day as my mother rested. When I returned home every night at about 7:30pm, I spent all my time carrying my baby girl who had serious reflux and colic. She used to cry for a few hours every night and had to be constantly carried and comforted. It was very difficult to get her to sleep, sometimes she would stay awake until 1 am.

The maid cooked, washed and cleaned the kitchen between 7pm and 10pm, after which she went to sleep until 6 am. She was not required to do any night feedings. At that time my husband was working as an engineer in a European MNC. His work was even more demanding compared to mine, he often had to work until midnight. He was not able to help with the baby at all. I felt so tired all the time. I never expected motherhood to be so tiring.

When my baby girl was about 1 year old, I was pregnant with my second baby. It was still very difficult to get my girl to sleep at night. I remember that I had to carry her even when I was heavily pregnant. She was a very active baby and loved to interact with adults. Every day after work I played with her until she fell asleep. She was never left alone in the cot when she was awake. I let her crawl and walk all over the house and explore everywhere, so our floor must be kept very clean and mopped everyday by the maid.

When my younger boy was born, my girl was 17 months old. I was worried that my mother and maid were not able to handle two of them, so I tried to put my girl in the childcare center. However, I found that all the childcare centers in my area were full. My boy was frequently ill before the age of 6. He had bronchitis so many times that we had to buy a nebulizer for him. He was hospitalized twice between 4 to 5 years old due to HFMD. Putting him in a full day childcare was out of the question.

When my kids were about 3 to 4 years old, a mother staying in my neighbourhood told me that her son could not read in English when he was in primary one. She was asked by the teacher to send her son back to kindergarten. I was shocked and realized that the standard in primary school is very high nowadays. Due to our bilingual policy, all children must study both English and Chinese. I spent my time after work teaching each of my kids to read in both languages.

I am glad that I started teaching my kids between the age of 3 to 6, which is the best time for a child to learn languages. Now that my kids are in primary one and two, I found that kids who are not able to read independently before entering primary school will struggle to keep up with the syllabus. In my kids' neighbourhood school, teachers tell the students that 85 marks is considered bad. For many parents who are not able to teach their kids like I do, they will have to send their kids for tuition in every subject.

In 2006, my late father became very ill. We could not afford the fees at private nursing homes which were about $1400 a month (Source) . Furthermore, I do not want my father to be confined to a bed all day, away from our family. He moved in to live with us and I employed a second maid to look after him. By 2009, he was bedridden and had to wear diapers. Fortunately, the maid looking after him was wonderful. Her job was very tough, besides changing diapers for my father, she had to feed him, and also carried him to bathe in the toilet everyday. She often pushed him on the wheelchair and traveled to his favourite places in Chinatown. I am really grateful to her because there was no way I could manage since I was working full time.

In mid 2007, my husband quit his job at the European MNC because he was overworked and frustrated. He found a new job only at the end of 2008. Though he had savings, I was the sole provider of my parents because my elder brother had left for a job in UK. I could no longer afford 2 maids. I kept the maid who was taking care of my father because she agreed to look after my kids as well. I gave her a 40% pay increment. I reduced her work as much as possible. During the weekends, I did the laundry and ironing of all the clothes of my husband and myself, I changed my own bedsheet, and I also washed the toilet in the master bedroom. I felt more tired during the weekends, compared to weekdays when I was working all day.

In early 2008, I was retrenched by the American MNC. I almost had a nervous breakdown because my husband had not found a job at that time. I sent out numerous letters, but only managed to get a couple of interviews. When I was interviewed at a Japanese MNC, I was questioned whether I had any children, and who was taking care of them. I did not get that job. Fortunately, I managed to find an employer who is very pro-family, but I had to accept a pay cut of about $1000. Nevertheless, I am very happy with my new job because I am doing something very meaningful. However, my job now requires me to walk around for up to 6 hours a day, and I feel really tired everyday.

My life is miserable compared to other mothers who can afford to stay at home to look after their kids because their husbands earn enough money for them to live a comfortable life. Some working mothers whose husbands are able to help with house work can manage without maids, and they are the fortunate ones. I know that many other full time working mothers are living a life that is even more miserable compared to mine, especially those with no one to help except the maid.

All we need is a good maid who can help us with house work and look after the children when we work. It costs us over $800 a month to employ a maid, this is a lot of money to us considering that our average monthly salary is only $3741 (after CPF deduction). We cannot afford to operate a charity. The maid must be able to help us.

A maid earns as much as an engineer working in her home country(Source). Her employer fully pays for her food, groceries and lodging. She can send all her salary back home so that her family can live a good life, since the cost of living in Indonesia and Philippines is very low compared to Singapore. Maids working in Indonesia are paid as little as USD60 a month, if she comes to Singapore to work, she can earn 5 times more.

We expect maids to be very motivated to work hard for us. Instead, most of the time maids give us nothing but trouble. Read about my bad experiences with maids here : About my maids

Weekly day off policy for maids must be flexible, say stakeholders

2011-11-06T18:24:00.000-08:00

Published in channelnewsasia.com

By Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted: 29 October 2011 1713 hrs

(Source)

SINGAPORE: Advocacy groups have welcomed the Manpower Ministry's move to study a mandatory weekly day off for maids. But along with employers and maid agencies, they said the policy needs to build in a large degree of flexibility.

Responding to Channel NewsAsia, the ministry said consultation with stakeholders has been on since late last year, and results will be announced in due course. A ministry spokesperson said discussions have included employers, maids, maid agencies and non-governmental organisations.

For the policy to work, one proposal is for the law to protect maids against dismissal and repatriation, when they report an errant employer.

Jolovan Wham, executive director of the Humanitarian Organisation for Migrant Economics, said: "One of the challenges of facilitating the process of lodging complaints, is that many migrant workers are often afraid of losing their jobs, and that is what keeps them from going to the Ministry of Manpower to complain and to lodge their claims."

Mr Wham added: "The migrant domestic worker should have the right and the opportunity to change her mind, and say that, 'For this particular weekend, I have stuff to do, I would like to have a day off. But maybe next weekend, I consent to working for you on a Sunday.'"

A ministry spokesman told Channel NewsAsia there are "comprehensive" measures to protect a maid under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. He added that "as a safeguard against employers who attempt to repatriate their foreign domestic workers unfairly, those who are forcefully brought to the airport can seek assistance from Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers, who will redirect them to the ministry to pursue their claims."

John Gee, President of Transient Workers Count Too, said the right of the employer to unilaterally send a maid back to her home country should be done away. Instead, he should be required to explain his decision to the Manpower Ministry, and the maid should also be allowed to explain her story. Mr Gee told Channel NewsAsia he had raised the issue to the ministry in the past, but was told it was a "problem of staffing".

Maid agencies said the improvement in working conditions could help ease the supply crunch, but working out compensation that is fair to the maid and acceptable to employers, will be tricky.

The standard contract between an employer and a maid currently recommends at least one day off a month, with compensation in-lieu. The going rate is about S$20 for each day off, and some maid agencies have said that if the new law kicks in requiring at least four days off a month, the resulting increase in expense might turn some employers away.

That is because employers often give the minimal one day off each month.

Riza Malawad, operations manager with 9Y2 Employment Services, said: "It's a little bit too high, to employ a domestic helper and compensate four days off. S$20 times four is S$80, and the current salary is S$400. S$480 can be a little hefty for some families."

Peter Loh, Managing Director of Swift Arrow, said so long as employers have the option to pay more instead of granting a day off, "nothing will change, except that the salary will go up." Mr Gee, however, feels that "Singaporeans might grumble, but if it's the law, people will comply."

And then there is the issue of what maids do on their days off, a concern often cited by employers as a reason for not allowing them out.

The Church of the Holy Family is one of many organisations that holds classes for maids. Participants pick up a skill, while easing their homesick pangs. To reassure employers, organisers are strict on attendance.

Programme Coordinator Vikki de Jesus, who has been working in Singapore as a maid for 26 years, said she often gets calls from employers checking up on their maids.

She said: "Some domestic helpers say they can't come, but I ask them to get a letter from the employer, to make sure that the employer asked them not to go. Because I want also to make sure that we are not playing around here... We want the communication between the employer and the helper, that they are really here, in our place, in our skills programme."

In Parliament on October 20, in a written reply to Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Christopher de Souza, the Manpower Minister acknowledged the need for maids to have a time-out, but said the matter "requires careful consideration".

CNN report : Little rest for Singapore's silent army

2011-11-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

My blog is featured in a CNN report :
Little rest for Singapore's silent army

The CNN reporter lifted statements completely out of context from my blog.

Her report started with my house rules, but she leaves out the fact that these house rules are the result of my experiences with bad maids. Read this page : House rules

She did not report that I wrote the following in my blog in 2007 and 2008 :

What is a good employer
3. Sufficient Rest
Can you work everyday of the year without any rest ? If you are unable to do so, then don't expect that from a maid ! I know maids who developed mental problems after working for 2 years or more without any off day. Now with the changes to the Security Bond, employers do not need to lose their Security Bond when the maid gets pregnant. Please click the following for more information :Change in Security Bond Conditions

For employers who are afraid that the maid will be badly influenced by other maids, do remember that you only pay the maid a salary to work for you. You have no right to control the friends she likes to mix with. You have no right to cut off her communication. If the maid wants to turn bad, she will turn bad no matter what you do. My maid has one off day every alternate Sunday, she is still a good maid after working for me for 3 years.

Every one of us will be happy to have a job that pays well, has a very reasonable workload, and sufficient rest for us.

High pay and reasonable workload will NOT change a bad maid to a good maid. But these conditions will certainly retain a maid who is willing to work hard.

How to manage a maid
Do review your timetable and task list and make sure that it is reasonable. Ask yourself, are you able to do all those tasks ? If you cannot, then don't expect the maid to be able to do it. The maid is just a human being like you and me.

Off day or no off day ?
No one can work everyday for years without any rest. I advise employers to give off days to their maids whenever possible.

Employers who have babies, very young kids, or elderly who needs constant care, may not be able to give off days to their maids. In this case, try to make sure that your maid has some free time to rest. At least one hour every day, or a few hours during the weekends without being disturbed. Let her have the freedom to call her family or friends.

A maid who works everyday without any rest is very likely to develop mental illness. This happened to 2 of my ex-maids.

Some employers are concerned that the maid will get pregnant if she finds a boyfriend outside. All maids must go through medical checkup every 6 months. Once she tested positive for pregnancy, immediately send her back and you will not lose your security bond.

Some employers are concerned that the maid may mix with other maids who may teach her bad things. This is something that we cannot control. If the maid is a good maid, she will not be influenced by her friends.

I also do not ask my maid where she goes and what she does during her off day. She is only working for me for a salary, I have no right to control her life when she is not working for me.

The text above in italics was written in 2007 to 2009. I have always written in my blog that maids should be given enough time to rest. However, I think that maids should have the freedom to choose whether they want a day off, or extra money. Read this Straits Times Forum letter written by an employer : Present policy on days off for maids works

The report states that :
"Tamarind says her maid would prefer to earn extra money than take a day off -- something Human Rights Watch says only underscores how little domestic workers are paid."

Anyone with common sense should ask :
If domestic workers are paid so "little", why do they still come to Singapore to work ?

I googled "Indonesia salary" and found the following data :
Salary Guide (Indonesia)

A Production Engineer in Indonesia earns 2.5 million IDR a month, which is about SGD 350 a month. A maid who only has 8 years of education can never dream of earning this salary in her home country. In Singapore, a maid's food and lodging is fully paid for by the employer, she can send her salary back to her family members so that they can enjoy a better life.

Maids are usually paid an extra SGD 20 if she chooses no day off. SGD 20 can buy 10 kg of rice in Singapore, enough to feed my family of 4 for one whole month. This amount of money can certainly buy much more in Indonesia with its lower cost of living.

What is "little" to one person, may be a "big" amount of money to another person living in developing countries. I am surprised that the CNN reporter does not even have this common knowledge. An educated adult should know how to do research to find out what is really the truth.

The fact is that many Singaporeans and foreign workers (especially those from mainland China) like to work overtime to earn more money. I used to work for an American MNC, and I often worked to late at night and over the weekends because I was paid 1.5 times my hourly rate. This extra money was important to me, and I did not think that my human rights had been violated. If all maids were given a day off weekly, I will not be surprised that many maids will be caught working part time on their off days to earn extra money (note that it is illegal for maids to work outside of the employer's home).

Finally, I would like to share this Economist article which reports the truth about the difficulties faced by Asian working mothers like myself :

The flight from marriage
"As in most traditional societies, women in Asia have long been the sole caregivers for children, elderly parents or parents-in-law. People generally assume they will continue to be so, even though many women have paid jobs outside the home. The result is that expectations placed on wives have become unusually onerous. Surveys in Japan have suggested that women who work full-time then go home and spend another 30 hours a week doing the housework. Their husbands contribute an unprincely three hours of effort. In America and Europe the disparity is less extreme, and has narrowed considerably since the 1960s.

On top of this, many Asian couples face enormous pressure to ensure their children succeed in schools with cut-throat competition for places—pressure that falls mostly on the mother. Private child care is exorbitantly expensive. There are few state-subsidised crèches (324,000 children are on waiting lists in Seoul alone). And setting up a home is expensive because of high house prices. All this means it is harder to strike a satisfying balance between job and family in Asia than in the West."

This is the reason why we need maids in Singapore.

Present policy on days off for maids works (15 Oct 2011)

2011-11-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

The following letter from an employer was published in the Straits Times on 15 Oct 2011. (Source)

I DISAGREE with the reply by maids advocate Transient Workers Count Too ('No reason to deny maids a day off'; Monday) to Madam Chua Lai Keow's concern over a maid's trustworthiness ('Pregnant with worry'; Oct4).

A maid can choose, contractually, whether she wants a day off or cash in compensation.

If a maid wants a day off, she can always choose to work for employers who agree to her precondition.

Even if a maid contractually chooses to be paid in lieu of days off, she can get what she wants if she prefers a day off, by seeking a new employer.

Let us not make it seem as if she cannot, or will not switch employers. One former maid I hired had worked for six different employers in two years while another worked for eight. Maids do not think twice about switching employers because they lose nothing financially. When a maid wants to leave, an employer cannot refuse.

From my experience, maids leverage on several ways to break her contract and get a transfer. She refuses to work. And if she has to, she adopts a poor attitude and breaks household items.

A recalcitrant maid also feigns unstable behaviour or hops into a cab and seeks sanctuary at her embassy.

The point is, many maids do not need a day off every week. Otherwise, why are there many instances of maids working part-time illegally on their days off.

So the best option is what's being done now: Allow maids the choice of choosing whether they want a day off weekly or monthly, or none.

____End of Letter_____

Tamarind said...
I have been reading this :
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

I cannot find anything that says everyone must rest for a full day every week. I only found the following :

Article 24.
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

The amount of rest required for each individual is different. People from privileged background may find it absolutely necessary to have one day off every week. In Asia, especially among the ethnic Chinese, it is very common for an adult to work every day without rest so that he/she can earn more money. In fact, many Chinese rest for only a few days during the Chinese New Year, after working hard for the whole year.

Everyone should have the freedom to decide how much rest he/she needs.

16 employment agencies fined for fixing maids' salaries (1 Oct 2011)

2011-09-30T19:03:00.000-07:00

16 employment agencies fined for fixing maids' salaries

Source

By Amanda Tan

The Straits Times 1 Oct 2011

THE Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) yesterday meted out fines amounting to more than $150,000 to 16 employment agencies for collectively fixing the pay of new Indonesian maids.

The group, which includes big names in the industry such as Nation Employment and Comfort Employment, were fined between $5,000 and $42,317.

They were found to have infringed the Competition Act by discussing a collective pay rise for the maids, from about $380 to $450. The Act prohibits business competitors from meeting to discuss price rises, among other things.

BACKGROUND STORY

Serious offence that distorts competition

PRICE-fixing is deemed a very serious offence.

It falls under Section 34 of the Competition Act, which prohibits - among other things - practices that could prevent, restrict or distort competition.

The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) began policing companies here in 2005.

Price-fixing is a type of cartel conduct that involves an agreement between producers or suppliers of a good or service to fix prices and/or limit their production.

This 'agreement' can take various forms, including written, oral and tacit understanding. It does not matter if the parties involved played a big or small role in the decision to fix prices.

Businesses caught in such a situation should leave the discussion immediately, said the CCS.

The watchdog, which called a press conference to announce the decision, also said many maid employers would have been affected had it not intervened.

This is the first time the CCS, which was set up in 2005, has taken action against maid agencies. Previous cases involved companies such as ticketing agency Sistic, which was slapped with a $989,000 fine for abusing its dominant market position.

The commission launched an investigation following media reports on Jan 19 that the agencies had met and discussed raising the monthly salaries of new Indonesian maids.

The agencies, which met on Jan 16, had defended their move, saying it was aimed at easing a supply crunch by making it more attractive for domestic helpers to work here.

News of the proposed pay rise, however, had triggered angry complaints from some Singaporean families.

The CCS yesterday ruled that by engaging in discussion on a collective pay increase for the maids, the agencies had disclosed and shared their 'pricing strategies and intentions'.

Salary points should be determined by market forces, rather than 'collusive agreements between competitors', said a CCS statement.

It did not matter that some agencies disagreed with the specific salary amount proposed during the discussion, said the watchdog. It added: 'All 16 employment agencies failed to publicly distance themselves from the infringing agreement and/or unlawful practice.'

The agencies' claim that they would not benefit directly from the pay rise also cut no ice with the commission.

Said Mr Toh Han Li, CCS' assistant chief executive: 'When you agree on pricing, or discuss pricing, the competitive process is impaired. So it does not matter if you subsequently implement it, or whether you benefit from it.'

Apart from the fact that such a move is anti-competition, a collective pay rise would also affect a lot of Singaporean families, said Mr Toh.

About one in five families here employ maids. As of last year, there were 201,000 maids in Singapore, of whom 90,000 were said to be Indonesian.

Moreover, the 16 agencies are 'significant' players which ranked among the top 20 players in terms of the number of maids they supply, he said.

Mr Toh added: 'If we didn't intervene early, the group could have moved the price to a higher level and that is a distortion because that was not moved by market forces.'

He said while the agencies are free to determine the salaries of the maids they supply, they should do so independently.

The fines handed to the agencies vary, as they are pegged to their turnover, among other factors. The fines meted out are less than 1 per cent of the turnover.

The agencies are given two months to file an appeal. Otherwise, they have to pay the fine by Nov 30.

The agencies are: Arrow Employment, Best Home Employment Agency, Comfort Employment, Crislo Employment Agency, Crislo Resources, Homekeeper International, Jack Focus Management, Javamaids, JPB International Services, Maid Management Services, Nation Employment, Net Resources Recruitment, Nora Employment Agency, SLF Green Maid Agency, Swift Personnel and TM Global HR Consultancy.

Most told The Straits Times they would not appeal against the verdict.

But Nation Employment - which was slapped with the heaviest fine of $42,317 - said it would be 'seeking clarification' from CCS. Mr Gary Chin, the firm's managing director, said: 'The difference between the fines given to us and others is so much. We need to know how it was calculated.'

Homekeeper International said it would be seeking legal advice because it did not agree to the salary hike.

Supply of Indonesian domestic helpers to be cut? (30 Sep 2011)

2011-09-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

Supply of Indonesian domestic helpers to be cut?

Source

by Esther Ng

TODAYonline

30 Sep 2011

SINGAPORE - A recent media report - quoting an Indonesian official - has claimed that the Indonesian government is set to allow its citizens to work as domestic helpers in just four countries: Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

But responding to media queries, Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said yesterday in a statement that it was "unable to comment as we did not receive any official notice of this matter". "We are seeking clarifications from the Indonesian Embassy," the statement added.

The Indonesian Embassy could not be reached for comment on the report, which was first carried on Wednesday by Antara news agency. The report was picked up by Bernama.

The report quoted Indonesia's director-general of labour placement Reyna Usman, saying that the country's Manpower and Transmigration Ministry "has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of countries as destinations of Indonesian domestic helpers".

The ministry had studied the destination countries' policies on the protection of Indonesian migrant workers and the "fulfillment of their normative rights", the report quoted Mr Reyna as saying. He had added: "Based on the results of the evaluation, we have come to the conclusion that only four countries can be categorised as destinations of Indonesian domestic helpers."

However, Indonesia's Overseas Workers Placement Agency head Jumhur Hidayat told MediaCorp that what the Indonesian authorities are discussing - as part of an amended law on migrant workers - are actually plans to open representative offices in the four countries mentioned, to assist their citizens working there as domestic helpers.

Maid agencies here told Today they would be surprised if Mr Reyna's remarks were authoritative. Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore) president K Jayprema said: "We would have been informed if something major like this came up."

According to industry players, Indonesia is currently Singapore's biggest source of foreign domestic workers (FDWs). And the Republic - which is already facing a supply crunch - could face a massive shortage of FDWs if the report turns out to be accurate.

According to Ms Jayprema, out of the some 200 new FDWs who enter Singapore each day, seven in 10 are Indonesians.

Indonesian maids are popular here as many elderly who cannot speak English are able to speak Malay, JL Employment Services director Joanne Lee said. While maid agencies can turn to other sources such as the Philippines, Myanmar and India, Ms Jayprema doubts if "these countries can cope with the demand".

Employers asked to remove CCTVs from maids' rooms (13 Sep 2011)

2011-09-12T19:06:00.000-07:00

Employers asked to remove CCTVs from maids' rooms

MOM steps in after two maids raise privacy concerns

By Amanda Tan

The Straits Times

More employers are wiring up their homes with closed-circuit television systems (CCTVs) to monitor their maids, but at least two maids have raised questions about the invasion of privacy.

Last month, a maid known as Chona De Guzman posted a comment on the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) Facebook page asking if it was right for her employer to install a CCTV camera in her room.

It prompted a reply from another maid, Ms Joan Asequia Gonzales, who said she faced the same situation at her employer's home.

'I don't have privacy,' she wrote in the post.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the ministry said it had contacted both maids and spoken to the employers, who agreed to remove the cameras from the bedrooms.

It urged employers to respect the privacy of their maids even as they monitor them through cameras.

Lawyers said that because there are no privacy laws here, employers can install cameras in bedrooms and toilets.

However, lawyer Samuel Seow said maids can argue that there was intention to insult their modesty as those are private areas where they are likely to be undressed.

He added that employers might also infringe on other laws if they keep the video clips or show them to other people.

There are an estimated 201,000 maids here, with about one in five families hiring one.

Maid agencies noted that only a small percentage of employers install cameras, although Mr Benny Liew, director of Comfort Employment, has come across complaints from maids.

'We'll usually counsel the maids and tell them that if they aren't doing anything wrong, they shouldn't be worried,' he said, adding that employers who install CCTVs at home should inform their maids.

Ms Bridget Tan, president of migrant worker welfare group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, said employers should get the maid's permission first.

The practice is a 'violation of their right to privacy, which is applicable to all humans'.

She added that 'just because employers hear of a maid committing theft, that doesn't give them the right to invade someone else's privacy... The majority of domestic workers are doing good work'.

Installing CCTVs in homes is not new but retailers said they have enjoyed a spike in business in the last two to three years.

One reason could be the fall in prices, said Mr Shawn Cross, account manager for Innotel Solutions.

The ease of viewing footage has also become a plus point as it can be done on the go on smartphones.

Vendors said clients use the CCTVs as a way to deter their maids from abusing family members such as babies or to ensure that no strangers enter their homes. Some also plan to use the footage as evidence when misunderstandings arise.

Concerns of theft also surfaced recently when three maids were caught stealing. Two cases involved sums of $84,000 and $26,000.

Earlier this month, a maid was charged with stealing $400,000 in cash and jewellery; this is believed to be the largest amount that a maid has been accused of stealing from her employer.

Businessman Peter Ong, 62, does not feel the need to install CCTVs to monitor his maid, despite having caught her going out twice when she was supposed to be taking care of his 93-year-old mother.

'Of course, I lost some trust in her. But I can see that she keeps my house clean and takes care of my mum. Since I hired her, I thought it would be better if we tried to build a trusting relationship instead,' he said.

Should We Change the Entry Test for Foreign Domestic Workers?

2011-08-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

Should We Change the Entry Test for Foreign Domestic Workers?

by Singapore Ministry of Manpower on Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 8:15pm

The Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) entry test was introduced in 2005 as part of a package of measures by MOM to ensure first-time FDWs are able to adapt to working and living in Singapore. The entry test was thus designed to ensure that first-time FDW applicants possess basic numeracy and literacy skills. It also helps ascertain the ability of FDWs to understand basic safety instructions, as most FDWs will be working in a highly urbanised environment for the first time. The written test is in English and consists of multiple choice questions.

Held in Singapore, FDWs must pass the test within 3 working days of her arrival, excluding the day of arrival, and before her Work Permit is issued. She will be allowed a maximum of 3 attempts to pass the test.

Apart from passing the entry test, FDWs must also meet the following entry requirements:

Undergo and pass a medical examination by a Singapore-registered doctor.

Have a minimum 8 years of formal education and possess the necessary educational certificates as documentary proof of her education.

Meet the minimum age requirement of 23 years for first-time applicants.

First-time applicants must also attend the Safety Awareness Course within 3 working days of her arrival, excluding the day of arrival, and before her Work Permit is issued.

Facebook Questions Poll on Entry Test

MOM had previously announced that we were reviewing the effectiveness of the test to ensure that it remains relevant. We’ve gathered valuable feedback from our earlier in-depth interviews and the recent Townhall session with stakeholders, and would like to share these ideas on the test with you. Coming up next is a Facebook Questions poll on the top 10 ideas which were generated from these discussions. Do select which is the best option to improve the test for first-time FDWs, or just post a comment if you don’t think any of the suggestions work. Keep the ideas coming!

Click the following link to poll :

http://www.facebook.com/sgministryofmanpower

Poll results as of 30 Aug 2011:

Indonesian ID cards for maids worry bosses

2011-07-12T01:49:00.000-07:00

The Straits Times

Indonesian ID cards for maids worry bosses

Without them, they fear maids on home leave will be unable to return to Singapore to work

By Melissa Kok

IDENTIFICATION cards for Indonesian domestic workers have become a source of consternation for employers whose maids are headed home to celebrate Hari Raya next month.

They are worried that their maids will be barred from leaving Indonesia at the end of their home leave if they do not have this Overseas Workers' ID Card, also known as the Kartu Tenaga Kerja Luar Negeri (KTKLN).

It is understood that many of the maids in Singapore who need these cards do not have them and employers say they do not know how to apply for them.

It does not help that there are stories circulating of Indonesians stuck at home, unable to return to their jobs here after their leave.

The requirement, which applies to every Indonesian working overseas, was introduced in 2004, but was not strictly enforced by the Indonesian government until recently.

The credit card-size plastic card, which has the holder's photograph on it, stores information on the worker as well as the name, address and contact details of her employer and of her family.

Issued free, it is meant to make it easier for the Indonesian government to keep track of its citizens working overseas.

Ms Kitty Shih, whose maid of 10 years is going home to Surabaya for two weeks from Aug 27, said she became anxious a week ago when she failed to get through to the Indonesian Embassy for help.

The 36-year-old senior administrative assistant in the retail industry said: 'I went to 'Google' the application details for two hours, and oh my god, it was so hard to find anything!'

It turns out the Indonesian Embassy is not the go-to place for the card.

Instead, the maids may fill up an application online (http://ktkln.bnp2tki.go.id); the website is in Bahasa Indonesia.

Applications may also be submitted at any of the 23 designated labour offices located across Indonesia, including the offices at the Surabaya and Jakarta airports. The process takes 15 minutes.

These 23 offices are also where those who applied online are to collect their cards.

A spokesman for the Indonesian Embassy said yesterday that its staff members have taken many calls and visits from maids and employers in recent weeks regarding the card.

'We have provided leaflets about KTKLN, how to get it and where to get it. We also answer questions by phone, SMS and e-mail,' she said.

The spokesman added that, when picking up the card, the maid will need the following documents: her passport, work permit and a working agreement signed by the maid and her employer.

Maids will also need to show proof that they have bought insurance in Indonesia covering medical problems, accidents, lawyer's fees, salary arrears and termination of employment for reasons that are not the maid's fault.

The embassy spokesman said that if a maid has worked here for a long time under one employer and does not have a working agreement, it is advisable for her to get one from the maid agency.

She said the embassy can address a letter of guarantee to KTKLN officers stating that the maid is working here as a domestic worker.

Ms Shih has since managed to speak to an official at the Indonesian Embassy, and has been told she can get a letter of guarantee for her maid.

Saying she is relieved to know her maid can get the card in her home country, she added: 'I'll send my maid to the embassy next week to collect the letter.'

Maid jailed for stabbing 7-year-old (12 Jul 2011)

2011-07-11T19:26:00.000-07:00

The Straits Times

Maid jailed for stabbing 7-year-old

By Selina Lum

(Source)

AN INDONESIAN maid who wrote in her diary that she was happy working for a family of four here went on a rampage with a knife and chopper, using them against her employer's seven-year-old daughter.

This was in 2009, when Kumaeroh, who goes by only one name, was eight months into her job. She was preparing the girl for school on Sept 23 that year when she snapped without provocation, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and started stabbing the child.

Then she took a chopper and slashed the girl on her wrist.

Yesterday, Kumaeroh, now 26, pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted culpable homicide and was jailed eight years by the High Court.

The maximum penalty is 15 years.

The victim in the attack, who cannot be named, is now in Primary 3. She has recovered, but still neither eats well nor is comfortable with strangers, said her mother, aged 42.

Yesterday, the court heard that about three months before the incident, Kumaeroh had it in her head that her employers had hired someone to spy on her, and believed video cameras in the flat were monitoring her.

In sentencing, Justice Woo Bih Lisaid he took into account the Indonesian's tender age, her background, her state of mind and that she was working here, away from her family.

On the other hand, the judge said, there was no evidence for her perception that she was being spied on.

He further noted there was no suggestion she was abused, nor were her work conditions tougher than those of other maids.

The court heard that her employers in fact made efforts to make her a part of the family, such as by celebrating her birthday.

On the day of the attack, the maid and the girl were at home; the girl's parents were at work, while her elder sister was in school.

After getting the girl changed for school, the maid went to get her school bag - but also picked up a kitchen knife, with which she stabbed the girl repeatedly, ignoring her cries.

The girl struggled free, but fell. Kumaeroh then pinned her to the floor and continued stabbing her in her front and back.

The maid then took a chopper from the kitchen, pressed the girl's left palm against the floor and slashed her wrist.

When the maid did not show up at school to drop off the girl and pick up her elder sister, the older girl called home. When the maid hung up on her, she called her father.

The father called home and was told by Kumaeroh that the girl was sick, but he heard his younger daughter in the background, asking him to come home promptly.

He rushed home to see her bleeding on the floor. She was sent to hospital in an ambulance.

Pleading for leniency, Kumaeroh's lawyer Mohamed Muzammil said his client left her village in 2006 for Malaysia, where she was sexually assaulted by her stepfather who was there.

She later spent five months in jail for being in Malaysia without valid travel and employment papers.

The lawyer added that she deeply regrets what she did.

Speaking to reporters after the sentencing, the girl's mother said the sentence was fair.

She added that the family no longer employs a maid, and she now works only part-time as a customer service assistant.

Her husband, a 45-year-old project manager, said they do not accept the maid's apology. The mother added: 'We will never forgive her.'

MOM reviewing call for weekly rest day for maids (21 Jun 2011)

2011-06-25T04:16:00.000-07:00

MOM reviewing call for weekly rest day for maids

(Source)

SINGAPORE: The Manpower Ministry (MOM) said it is currently reviewing the call for the government to implement a weekly rest day for domestic maids with compensation in—lieu.

In an email reply to Channel NewsAsia, MOM said it will consult with various stakeholders including employers, employment agencies and non—governmental organisations.

Members of the public can email their views and suggestions to mom_fmmd@mom.gov.sg.

MOM said it recognises the benefits of rest days to the well—being and productivity of foreign domestic maids.

However, instead of mandating rest days, it said the government has adopted a more flexible approach of allowing households to work out a mutually agreement employment arrangement with their maids, and encouraging employers to grant their workers regular rest days.

Accredited employment agencies use a standard employment contract for maids, which requires employers to stipulate the number of rest days per month. Should the maids agree to work during their rest day, employers are required to pay them an agreed amount of compensation.

Agencies cautioned that this may not go down well with employers.

Joanne Lee, Director of JL Employment Services Pte Ltd, said: "I would say most employers may not be in favour of this. I guess it’s because during their rest days, they would want their helpers to be around to take care of their needs. I guess it’s a lot of inconvenience."

The MOM’s 2010 survey showed that slightly over half of all foreign domestic workers in Singapore already enjoy at least one day off a month.

The development came two days after Minister of Statement for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Halimah Yacob, suggested legislation be considered that makes employers give their domestic helpers a rest day every week.

She said giving maids a day off might help to minimise some issues such as stress and overwork that domestic workers are facing now.

As of December last year, there were about 200,000 Foreign Domestic workers in Singapore. Some employment agencies have said that if this weekly rest day is implemented, it could help boost the number of domestic workers in Singapore.

They said this is important as the demand for domestic workers would rise as Singapore faces an ageing population and more women opt to go to work.

The new International Labour Organisation convention was approved last week in Geneva to grant domestic workers greater protection from exploitation. Singapore was among 63 voters which abstained from voting on the convention.

The Manpower Ministry has said it would sign the treaty only when it was sure it could implement it here, and that it would continue to review the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers.

Maid's body found in HDB water tank (17 May 2011)

2011-05-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

May 17, 2011

Maid's body found in HDB water tank

By Elizabeth Soh & Kimberly Spykerman

The Straits Times

SOME residents of a block of Housing Board flats in Woodlands were greeted with an unusual sight when they turned on their taps yesterday morning.

The water was slightly yellowish and appeared unnaturally foamy.

Some assumed that the water pipes were malfunctioning. At least four residents of Block 686B, Woodlands Drive 73, called the Sembawang Town Council to complain.

First their water supply was cut off at 11am. Then they were told that 'maintenance work' was being done.

It was only later in the day that the horrifying news spread: A 30-year-old Indonesian maid working there had been found dead in one of eight water tanks atop the 15-storey block.

A 27-year-old Bangladeshi maintenance worker was arrested nearby in connection with the woman's death. They were believed to have been in an intimate relationship.

Some residents recalled hearing screams and a couple arguing loudly in the morning, but they did not call the police, thinking it was a domestic problem.

It was the discoloured tap water that made residents wonder.

Suspect a worker who had access to roof

Retiree Choi Ah Moi, 69, who lives on the 11th storey, said she had noticed that the tap water was 'bubbly'.

After she found out what had happened, she said: 'This is so disgusting. My whole family finished a big pot of green bean soup I cooked this morning.'

Housewife Ally Lee, 33, said her maid used the water to cook noodles for her seven-year-old daughter at 7.30am. 'I think I'm going to take my daughter to the doctor,' she said.

Among those who said they heard screaming at about 7am was Mrs Eadelyn Tan, 36, who lives on the seventh floor.

'After the screaming stopped, I went out of my flat to the landing and I saw bloodstains in the lift and blood droplets on the stairs,' she said. But she did not call the police.

It was about 10am when the police received a call informing them that there was a body in a water tank at the block. The call is believed to have been made by a colleague of the Bangladeshi suspect.

Police, who found the dead woman in a 2m-deep tank, did not release her name yesterday.

The woman worked for a family on the sixth floor. She was found dressed in bermudas and a T-shirt and appeared to have cuts on her back.

The cause of death has not been determined.

The suspect is an employee of Sergent Services Pte Ltd, which offers conservancy services. As one of the maintenance workers assigned to the area, he had access to the roof.

Onlookers said he appeared to be limping and had cuts on his leg when he was led away by policemen at 10.40am.

The PUB said in a statement last night that it received a report of the incident at 3.30pm.

A PUB spokesman said that as soon as the town council knew of the incident, it stopped water supply from all eight rooftop tanks serving the block and provided residents with other sources of water at the void deck.

PUB officers also went to hand out water bags and sent a water tanker there.

The spokesman said: 'The town council is currently flushing/washing/sterilising the tanks and distribution pipes. Water supply is expected to be restored by midnight.'

Mr Soon Min Sin, the general manager of the town council, said that all eight tanks had to be flushed and sterilised as they were connected.

The tanks serve 124 of the 149 units in the block of four- and five-room flats. Twenty-five flats on the first three floors get their water supply piped in by the PUB.

Residents said their water supply was cut off at about 11am. At about 12.30pm, they received a town council notice informing them that the disruption was due to 'maintenance works' at the block.

Asked about the information given to residents, the town council's Mr Soon would only say: 'Our priority was to protect the residents and cut off the water supply for their safety.'

He said the town council would leave the police to investigate. 'Once the investigation is concluded, we will let residents know,' he added.

Among residents seen filling up pails of water at the void deck was housewife Yasmin Abdul, 35, who said she threw away a pot of freshly-made soup after she heard about the body.

'I am very upset and angry that the town council did not explain properly what had happened,' she said. 'This is just too scary.'

Mr Vikram Nair, a newly elected MP for Sembawang GRC, visited residents last night.

He said the police would investigate how the suspect gained access to the water tank.

'Once we get the full picture, we will put in measures to prevent it from happening again,' said Mr Nair, who assured residents that water supply would resume.

Maid pay hike: 16 agencies face fines (14 May 2011)

2011-05-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

May 14, 2011

Maid pay hike: 16 agencies face fines

They have until June 27 to prove they did not engage in price-fixing

By Amanda Tan

The maid agencies

•Arrow Employment

•Best Home Employment Agency

•Comfort Employment

•Crislo Employment Agency

•Crislo Resources

•Homekeeper International

•Jack Focus

•Javamaids

•JPB International Services

•Maid Management Services

•Nation Employment

•Net Resources Recruitment

•Nora Employment Agency

•SLF Green Maid Agency

•Swift Personnel

•TM Global HR Consultancy

SIXTEEN maid agencies have been accused of engaging in price-fixing by meeting to discuss a collective pay increase for new Indonesian maids, from $380 to $450 a month.

They now have until June 27 to prove otherwise to the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) or face a fine, a CCS statement said yesterday.

The 16 agencies include major players such as Nation Employment, Best Home Employment Agency and Homekeeper International.

Employment agencies should determine the salaries of new Indonesian maids independently, 'without discussion or agreement with any other employment agency', said the CCS statement.

It was first reported in February that the anti-competition watchdog was investigating the agencies, which reportedly met in January to discuss the pay rise to ease a supply crunch that had arisen because of competing demand from other countries.

A Proposed Infringement Decision was issued to the agencies yesterday, asking them to present their arguments before the CCS makes a final decision.

In the letter, the agencies were notified of the fine they could expect to pay if they were found to have infringed anti-competition rules.

The Straits Times understands that most of the 16 agencies are trying to decide what to do next. But at least one agent has decided he will not submit any appeal, and will pay the imposed fine - believed to be in the thousands.

It is understood that the fine differs from agency to agency. 'Financial penalties are calculated based on the relevant turnover from new Indonesian maids, the seriousness of the infringement and other aggravating or mitigating factors,' said a CCS spokesman.

One agent, who declined to be named, said: 'We have not profited from this. Moreover, we stopped using $450 as the benchmark within three, four days of being warned, so why are we being fined for all these months of wrongdoing?'

A lawyer, who gave his opinion on condition of anonymity because the case is still open, said: 'Technically, it doesn't matter if the parties profit from it or not, although they may raise it as mitigation. CCS will just have to consider the impact on competition, including the impact consumers face as a result of the arrangement.'

Some agencies, which were not among the 16 agencies being probed, have since adjusted the pay of maids. Employers now pay about $400 to hire a new Indonesian helper, up from $360 previously, said Mr Allan Seow, manager of maid agency FME Management.

When contacted, the Ministry of Manpower said it would not comment at this stage 'as CCS has yet to finalise its decision'.

Where Have S'pore's Indonesian Maids Gone?

2011-03-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

Where Have S'pore's Indonesian Maids Gone?

Radha Basu - Straits Times Indonesia

26 March 2011

It makes for an unlikely dream factory. At a whitewashed house on the outskirts of Jakarta, 120 Indonesian women are striving to fulfill a cherished migrant ambition.

They are training to be maids and to look after other people's homes in affluent parts of the region. It is often their only ticket out of penury.

Singapore has long been a coveted destination. But its allure is fading fast.

Ask how many want to work in Taiwan and 66 hands promptly shoot skywards. Another 39 favor Hong Kong, but only 15 cite Singapore as their dream destination.

Why is that, you ask. Singapore is safe, clean and so close to home. Why do they not want to work there?

"Money not enough, Ma'am," the women intone in unison. "Taiwan, Hong Kong got higher salary."

The labor squeeze that has long been a by-product of globalization and booming Asian economies seems to have reached the lower strata of the job market. Women, even from desperately poor backgrounds, can afford to be a bit choosier these days, as maid recruiters in Indonesia are finding out.

This group of women is being trained by Sejahtera Eka Pratama (SEP), an employment agency in Bekasi, near Jakarta.

A similar story is playing out in Pangkalan, a sleepy West Java hamlet about 250km away. Of the 5,000 families living there, at least 4,000 have a son or a daughter working in a low-paying job overseas. The hamlet's dirt roads are accessible only via motorbike.

Sukarma Mahmud, 50, a village recruiter who supplies Indonesian employment agencies with women willing to work as domestic labor overseas, is doing his rounds.

He is making his pitch to Kesih Suta, 23, as she sits on a mat in her parents' two-room home. She returned to her village last December after seven years away working as a maid in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

"You will earn more than you did for sure," he promises the petite woman whose last pay was around $320 per month. "You may even get four days off a month."

But Kesih, the eldest child of an odd-job worker and a farmer, looks unconvinced. "I can earn even more in Taiwan,' she says in Bahasa.

Sukarma changes tack. "You help me and I help you," he cajoles.

"You pay me something then?" she counters, as her two younger siblings - both under 10 - play nearby. "My parents could use the money.

Would 2 million rupiah (S$290) be enough, he asks.

'I'll think about it,' she smiles. 'No promises.'

Low pay, high qualifications

Indonesia is Singapore's biggest supplier of foreign domestic workers, with at least 90,000 of its citizens working in the Republic.

But a number of factors are taking the gloss off Singapore as a destination, as The Straits Times discovered during a recent visit to training centers and kampungs near Jakarta.

Interviews with 10 Jakarta-based employment agencies and dozens of women who have worked or plan to work as maids overseas found that low pay, high eligibility criteria and the surge in demand from Taiwan, where the women can earn twice what they can here, are undermining Singapore's appeal.

The relatively low wages that Singaporean employers pay for domestic help compared with rates in Hong Kong or Taiwan are by far the biggest disincentive.

An Indonesian maid with no experience who comes to Singapore gets around S$380 a month, though some recruiters are trying to increase that to S$450, with at least one day off.

With wage levels left strictly to market forces and individual employers and maids to determine, some earn even less. Some agencies in Indonesia still recruit maids for S$350 a month or less. Some of these operators are unlicensed.

In Hong Kong, where minimum wage laws are in place, a maid earns at least HK$3,580 (S$581), with at least one day off a week. Unlike in Singapore, domestic workers there are also covered by employment laws and entitled to all public holidays off plus paid annual leave.

Maids in Taiwan can command at least NT$15,840 ($678), with four days off a month. They are also paid extra for working on days off.

Malaysia used to be at the bottom of the table when it came to paying Indonesian maids, but the Jakarta government banned its maids from working there last year after a rise in alleged cases of abuse. Maids in the United Arab Emirates and other countries in the Middle East still receive S$350, or less, but the employers absorb all recruitment costs, unlike in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Also, typically, better-off Middle Eastern households employ a few maids each, so the individual workload is lighter.

While Singapore employers generally pay less than those in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the eligibility criteria are the highest.

A worker has to be at least 23 years old and have at least eight years' education to come here. Taiwan and Hong Kong only require domestic workers to be 21 or over. There are no official education criteria, though maids generally have at least primary-level education.

Nurfaizi Suwandi, chairman of Apjati, the Indonesian Manpower Services Association, says: "Twenty-three-year-olds might find it hard to want to work in Singapore for S$380 or S$400, when 21-year-olds are getting close to S$700 in Taiwan."

The body has 330 members, making it Indonesia's largest association for employment agencies.

"The 19- and 20-year-olds who want to come and work in Singapore don't stand a chance."

A few years ago, domestic workers fresh from their villages initially went to Malaysia or Singapore to gain experience, before moving on to higher-paid jobs elsewhere. As Singapore provided an important training ground, it seemed fair that maids were paid less, say agents.

For instance, when Titin Kartini, 26, the eldest of three children of penniless West Java farmers, decided to work overseas a decade ago, she chose Singapore. She earned S$230 a month and worked for a family with three young children.

She had no days off and was not allowed to go out on her own, but she did not mind. "I just focused on learning how to cook and clean, and I also picked up Mandarin," she says. "All I wanted was to move to Hong Kong."

She did so in 2004, and worked there until 2008 for around S$600 a month.

Titin has spent the past three years teaching English at a village school, but is now keen to be off again, this time to Taiwan. "I have always had good employers, but I really want to earn more," says the articulate and confident woman, who can cook for up to 30 people at a time.

Taiwan is attractive not just for the $700 salary.

Unlike in Hong Kong, where she says she was forced to take four days off a month by law - and in doing so spending precious money - she says Taiwan allows her to work on her days off.

By working three Sundays a month, she can earn an additional $70, she calculates.

Opportunities elsewhere

But experienced workers like Titin are not the only ones flocking to Taiwan and Hong Kong these days, says Charles Butar Butar, who heads SEP. Increasingly, even Indonesians with limited or no experience also prefer to start out there.

His agency now supplies around 120 maids to Taiwan and 100 to Hong Kong every month, up from around 80 and 50, respectively, five years ago. There has been a corresponding decrease in supply to Singapore, with only 20 or so of his maids headed here, down from 100 five years ago.

Said Butar Butar: "The Indonesians are increasingly seen to be more obedient and willing to fit into the Chinese culture. And Taiwan and Hong Kong employers don't mind if they have little or no experience."

The Singapore market is getting hit by another factor as well - a depleting supply of Filipino domestic workers, who have long been the Indonesians' rivals in the region.

"For some reason, Filipinas are not coming in the numbers they used to be," says the agency boss. "Indonesians are taking their place."

Filipino maids are increasingly turning down Singapore jobs unless they are paid a Philippine government-stipulated minimum salary of US$400 ($506). This has led to a surge in demand for Indonesians here.

The Philippine Embassy in Singapore confirms that the supply of Filipina domestic workers in the region has been falling in recent years.

More of them prefer to work as retail assistants and factory workers, or go further afield for higher-paying jobs as domestic workers in Canada, Spain and Italy or factory workers in Taiwan, its labor attache Rodolfo Sabulao told The Straits Times.

Indonesians, too, are navigating hitherto unexplored fields, points out Nurfaizi. They are finding jobs on cruise ships in the United States and Europe, and - through a government-to-government program - as health-care workers in Japan.

Even bribes do not work

In a region flush with opportunity, it is small wonder then that many young women in Indonesian villages are reluctant to come to Singapore.

After failing to convince Kesih, Sukarma, the village recruiter, drops in on Zubaidah Nono Suoyana, 27, a former factory worker now planning to work overseas as a maid.

Zubaidah has two young children, including a month-old son, and her husband's pay as an odd-job laborer is not enough for the family. She says she heard on the radio that girls willing to go to Singapore stand to gain an advance payment of 4 million rupiah.

As she has no experience as a maid - a stint in Saudi Arabia was aborted last year when her employer sent her home within a month - Zubaidah initially agrees to work for anything above $350 a month.

But the moment she learns that she might have to live on only $20 a month - or possibly even $10 - for up to nine months while she pays off the recruitment costs, she lets out a small shriek. "I won't even be able to breathe on that money. No way I could survive."

She says her Saudi employer's wife sent her back because she believed her husband was paying her too much attention.

"In Saudi Arabia, there were no deductions," she says. "How do maids survive in Singapore for so long with so little money?"

As he leaves her home, Sukarma claims that he increasingly has to pay maids and their families up to 5 million rupiah to coax them to even consider Singapore.

Recruiters emphasize that the supply of maids from Indonesia has not dried up. But there is a definite crunch in the supply of quality maids.

Says recruitment agent Rudy Hart: "There will always be some who want to go, but their quality is in question." He knows of women who take the "ang pow" money and come to Singapore, only to find that the work is too hard for them. "They then run away and return home," he says. "The agents try to chase them for refunds, but often they don't get any."

Dreaded English test

Singapore's supply is further depleted by the exacting entrance requirements, say Indonesian agents. In April 2005, Singapore introduced a compulsory test in English for all maids that radically changed the game, says Butar Butar.

With better-educated women generally gunning for higher-paying jobs in Hong Kong and Taiwan or other professions elsewhere - and Malaysia out of bounds due to the Indonesian government ban - Singapore is increasingly becoming the place for those who cannot really go anywhere else.

Even if they have completed the mandatory eight years of schooling that Singapore requires, they hardly know any English, points out Antony Rais, who teaches English at Sumber Kencana Sejahtera, a large employment agency on the outskirts of Jakarta.

Although statistics from Singapore's Ministry of Manpower show that nearly 95 per cent of all domestic workers pass the test, Indonesian agents say the number for Indonesians is lower.

Says Mr Hart: "The 95 per cent includes Filipinos, who probably find the test easy." In his agency, which supplies around 50 girls to Singapore every month, about a third fail the test.

In Butar Butar's agency, the pass rate sometimes falls even lower. "Just last week, I sent nine girls to Singapore and six returned after failing the test," he says.

One sultry afternoon earlier this month, Antony coached a class of 40.

The women prepare for the class by memorizing the answers to 400 questions similar to those found in the Singapore test, with a Bahasa-English dictionary at their side.

The questions are framed in such a way that the women learn not only the basics of English, but also information directly relevant to their work as domestic workers. They also learn about their rights.

"Where in Singapore can you work?" asks Mr Antony, first in English and then in Bahasa. "Only in my employer's house," choruses the class, picking the correct answer from the list of four options.

Later, they learn what a "three-in-one" coffee mix is, how Indonesian helpers should be given at least one day off a month when they work in Singapore and how they can call their agent, embassy or a hotline run by the Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore) if they are not paid.

But learning by rote in a group setting is not always effective. As the class progresses, some play with their pencils or stare at the corridor outside, lost in thought.

Tough employers

While novices are eager to work in Singapore, some returnees are reluctant to go back.

Many narrate stories of how Singaporeans can be tough employers, unlike those in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Many rue what they call their lack of freedom.

From June 2009, when Siti Nurjanah Surjono left Jakarta to go to Singapore to work, till October last year, her parents did not hear from her even once.

Then, on Hari Raya last year, she called her mother. "It was like she came back from the dead," recounts her mother, Julekha Sutana, 45.

Nurjanah, 24, claims that from the time she began working for a family of five adults in Jurong, she was not allowed to leave her employer's home on her own, or even to make a phone call. Her primary duty was to look after the ailing matriarch of the family. She also claims that both she and the elderly woman were not given enough to eat.

Shortly after her first phone call home - 16 months later - the elderly woman died. Nurjanah was returned to the agency and asked to be sent back home.

Meanwhile, her sister Marfuah Surjono, 27, spent eight years working for two families in Hong Kong without incident. She was given enough food, had regular days off and the keys to the house. "My employers even took me to Ocean Park," she beams, referring to a theme park.

Marfuah, who now works as a Cantonese teacher to trainee maids, says she frequently shares her story - and that of her sister's - with prospective maids: "They need to be informed about the risks before they can make choices."

But Singapore still retains its attraction for one group of women who would work here again in a heartbeat - maids who have had fair employers and enjoyed their stints in the Lion City.

Siti Sopiah, 28, a farmer's wife with a one-year-old son worked for the same Bukit Timah family - a married couple, their son and the child's elderly grandmother - for seven years.

She said her employers were concerned about her well-being, frequently asking her if she was happy. They also bought her clothes and gave her generous ang pows during Chinese New Year.

When she left - she says she wanted to "take a rest and get married" - they gave her four gold chains. "All my time there, I only received kindness," she says. "And I tried to pay it back by working hard."

She is now training to return to Singapore. "It's clean, safe and the people are kind," she adds.

The best part, she says, is that her agency is negotiating a salary of at least S$450. "I am really looking forward to going back."

Placement fees would be capped at $1,000 (9 Mar 2011)

2011-03-08T20:34:00.000-08:00

The Straits Times

Mar 9, 2011

Jakarta proposes new rules on hiring maids

Placement fees would be capped at $1,000, easing recruitment

By Teh Joo Lin & Melissa Kok

INDONESIAN maids could find it easier to get passage here and start work without giving up nine months or more of their pay to their agents, under new rules being proposed by Indonesia.

A key change is to cap the placement fees maids pay to Indonesian agents at $1,000. This placement fee will be paid by the maid herself by taking a loan from an approved bank in Indonesia.

Currently, such fees - which take into account the cost of medical check-ups, document processing and training - can go up to $3,000. The cost is often jacked up by Indonesian middlemen who take a cut for their help in recruiting the women.

The new fee cap could mean that Singapore employers will need to pay only the fees charged by the maid agencies here. Currently, employers bear the cost of placement fees first and deduct the amount from the maid's salary later.

This would lessen the financial burden on employers who need to hire maids but have problems forking out the placement fees up front.

It could also avert potential disputes over refunds between employers and the agencies should maids terminate their contracts early.

The Straits Times first learnt about the proposed changes from Indonesian sources.

The Indonesian Embassy here yesterday confirmed such plans.

The changes are expected to be approved by Indonesia's Labour Ministry and are likely to kick in from next month, said Ms Isnarti Hasan, the embassy's labour attache.

Details were firmed up following 'intensive talks' involving Indonesian government officials, Indonesian maid agencies and other bodies, which started earlier this year, said Ms Isnarti, who is the representative here for the Indonesian Labour Ministry.

Aside from the new placement fee cap, there is also a recommendation for a $450 monthly salary, including two days off, for maids working in Singapore. The recommendation is non-binding.

An existing rule that calls for new maids to undergo three months of training in Indonesia before they can work here will also be strictly enforced, to ensure their quality.

The proposed changes are part of an ongoing review by the Indonesian authorities to improve the framework for the recruitment of domestic helpers bound overseas, and to reduce the amount of money they pay to work abroad.

The cost of applying to be a maid here - which includes placement fees and charges for processing documents - has proven to be a big disincentive for those wanting to work here.

Indonesian recruiters have upped such fees over the years - from roughly the equivalent of three months' pay a decade ago to nine months' pay or more today.

Said Ms Becky Eng of Signature Employment Services: 'If the maids can settle their loans in Indonesia, employers also don't have to guarantee the loan; there's no transfer of cost, just pay our fee.'

For the maid, the fee cap means they can start earning a salary sooner.

Currently, many maids go without pay, or earn a paltry $10 or $20 a month, for nine months or more, so they can pay off the placement fees.

In other places such as Taiwan and Hong Kong, such fees may cost only half as much, while in Saudi Arabia, employers bear the cost. This has made Singapore a less attractive work destination for maids.

Said Mr Gary Chin, managing director of Nation Employment: 'If the maid clears her loan faster, she is able to adjust to life here, and likely to stay in the job for a longer period.'

When contacted, the Ministry of Manpower said it was aware that the Indonesian authorities may be considering capping placement fees and encouraging potential maids to take bank loans to pay the fees.

An MOM spokesman said : 'If indeed Indonesia does so, we believe this will complement our new Employment Agencies Act (from April 2011), which imposes a cap on fees charged by Singapore employment agencies to the foreign domestic worker (FDW).'

Under the new Act, the service fees agencies here charge to a maid will be capped at two months of her salary on a two-year work contract.

'It will also go some way to relieve Singapore employers who effectively loan their FDW a sum to pay their fees up front and then make loan deductions from the FDW's salary.'

On the $450 pay recommendation, the spokesman said that 'as it is a recommended salary subject to market forces, employers should negotiate with the agents and make informed decisions'.

'MOM continues to be in contact with Indonesian embassy officials on any proposed changes,' the spokesman added.

Ministry puts maid agency data online (18 Feb 2011)

2011-02-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

Feb 18, 2011

Ministry puts maid agency data online

By Radha Basu, Senior Correspondent

NEARLY half of all maids placed in homes by maid agencies do not complete even one year of service before they are transferred to new employers or sent home.

This figure - for maids placed between February 2008 and February last year - was revealed to The Straits Times by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

It has been tracking almost 700 maid agencies here to check the worker 'retention success rate', which shows whether maids from an agency stay with or leave their employers.

Now the ministry is making public this and other information it has collected over the past two years about the performance of maid agencies. It hopes employers will go online and find the information useful when choosing an agency.

The ministry's move comes in the wake of announcements by some agencies that they are likely to raise fees for employers soon, to cope with a dwindling supply of foreign maids.

These fees will be used to offset the high recruitment costs, most of which are currently borne by maids.

The MOM data shows that on average, only 47 per cent of maids placed between February 2008 and February last year stayed with the same employer for at least one year. A standard employment contract is for two years.

About 200 agencies - roughly three in 10 - did not place a single worker in the past year, and 166 placed fewer than 50.

Of the agencies that placed workers, eight scored '0 per cent' for their retention rate, meaning that not a single maid stayed with the same employer for a year.

Most agencies were new to the business. Only about 30 had existed since the 1980s.

There were 400 agencies which had been issued licences only in the past five years and of those, about 220 mushroomed in the past two years.

A closer look at the MOM data revealed several troubling issues.

For one thing, the industry is dominated by small players, each doing small-volume placements of around 135 a year. That does not necessarily mean 135 maids, because some may have been placed multiple times.

Only 10 agencies made at least 1,000 placements over the past year.

And while transfer rates were shown to be generally low - at around 5 per cent - this could be because the ministry counted only maids who had been transferred at least three times within a year by the same agency.

Mr Phua Boon Leng, a director who handles maid issues at MOM's foreign manpower management division, said that the ministry is putting its data online to improve 'transparency and information' about the performance of agencies.

He said this will ultimately help employers, maids and the agencies themselves to make more informed choices.

Under-performing agencies will be forced to do better.

Commenting on the low retention rates of domestic workers, Mr Phua said employers 'need to be mindful that a new domestic worker will need time to adjust and adapt to a new working environment'.

Several employment agents acknowledged that frequent and sometimes frivolous transfers had become the order of the day because some agencies offered employers 'free replacements' if they were not satisfied with a maid they had hired.

As a result, some employers who spoke to The Straits Times said they changed maids four times in a year. Some maids this paper spoke to had also been transferred three or more times in under six months.

'Some employers simply try their luck with a new helper since it costs them nothing to get a replacement,' said Mr Gary Chin, managing director of Nation Employment, Singapore's largest maid agency, which brings in around 4,000 new maids every year.

'It would help if they persevered with existing maids as time can solve some teething problems.'

radhab@sph.com.sg

The new website: info at a click

PROSPECTIVE employers can log on to the new Employment Agencies' directory at

http://mom.gov.sg/eadirectory

The directory lists each agency's placement volume and what percentage of its maids were transferred at least three times in the past year. It also provides data on domestic helper retention and transfer rates as well as what percentage of its candidates passed the English language test, which is mandatory for all helpers.

Employers can do a simple search by agency name or peruse the entire list.

'The website will enable employers to compare the placement performance of various agencies and make informed choices on which agency they want to employ to help them in their search for a new worker,' said Mr Phua Boon Leng, a director at the Manpower Ministry's foreign manpower management division.

'Agencies can evaluate their performance against competitors and see areas where they need to improve. If they have access to the Internet, domestic workers too can see how their agency fares against its peers.'

Maids getting to choose their bosses (14 Feb 2011)

2011-02-13T16:23:00.000-08:00

Feb 14, 2011

The Straits Times

Maids getting to choose their bosses

Supply crunch means more are demanding better working terms

By Melissa Pang & Amanda Tan

WANTED: Expat employer. Minimum salary of $450. Must have Sundays and public holidays off. No pets.

These are typical requests seen on online forums and bulletin boards in supermarkets popular with expatriates.

With Singapore facing a maid crunch, the laws of supply and demand are beginning to tilt in the favour of foreign domestic helpers, who can now afford to be more picky finding their next employer.

The Straits Times spoke to 20 maids and maid agencies and was told that while maids have used such bulletin boards before, more maids now are turning to them, and putting up a wishlist with specific demands.

To top it off, most of the maids interviewed said it is they who get the last say on their prospective employers, as they conduct the interviews and decide if they want to work for the new employer.

Filipina May Demetillo, 31, has received many calls in just one week since she put up a posting at a supermarket noticeboard and has had interviews with a few interested parties so far. She has narrowed the list to two prospective employers.

Said Ms Maria Cecilia of Win Employment Agency: 'They are very demanding now because they know that there are very few maids coming into Singapore. Those who have worked with expats, especially, are very choosy.'

Filipina Jovelyn Bapuirigan, 30, knows she can leverage her four years of work experience to find her own preferred employer.

With previous expatriate employers, she was given Sundays off and the opportunity to pursue a nursing course.

'Singapore families don't usually give you that sort of freedom,' she said.

Even maids who have been finding their own employers for some time say they are now precise in their demands - and have no trouble finding employers willing to meet them.

Ms Bernadette Coliwet, 47, had posted her ad on the bulletin board at the Holland Village Cold Storage outlet, one of the 12 supermarkets islandwide that The Straits Times checked.

Since 1993, she has been depending on such ads in order to save on transfer fees paid to maid agencies.

But it is only recently, because of a shortage of Filipina maids coming to Singapore, that she started listing her preferences.

She wants expatriates because of the higher pay and wants to take care of only older children. She now takes home $800 a month, but is willing to take reasonable paycuts, so long as she is pleased with the 'full package'.

She has used her days off to interview possible employers.

'I usually ask for salary information first. If the employer can afford to pay, then I'll meet them to see if we like each other,' said Ms Coliwet, who is seeking a new employer as the Australian family she is currently with is leaving Singapore.

Maids like her are considered transfer maids - helpers who have served their contract and are waiting to be rehired or who have been returned to agencies by their employers, for whatever reasons, before their contracts end.

Recent market changes have given them greater bargaining power.

The Philippine authorities last year made it harder for prospective maids wanting to leave the country, by enforcing a US$400 (S$500) minimum wage and four compulsory days off a month.

Filipinas and Indonesians make up the majority of the 196,000 foreign domestic workers in Singapore.

It is not compulsory for foreign domestic workers who want to be rehired to go through a maid agency.

Agencies merely act as a middle man by helping in job-matching and performing administrative functions such as applying for the maid's work permits.

Both the employer and maids can save on administrative costs if they bypass the maid agency. For the maid, this works out to about one to two months of her pay. The employer saves on her airfare home.

If the maid does not find a new employer before her old contract expires or before her current employer leaves, she will likely be sent back to her home as there will be no one liable for her, agents said.

Although some maid agencies The Straits Times interviewed said they have seen such practices since two years ago, the demands are not just more specific, but also come with a much higher salary request, sometimes up to 30 per cent more.

Mr Allan Seow, manager of FME Management, a maid agency, said that it is usually those who have been 'working for quite some time and have some money' who can afford to be more picky.

'They want expatriate employers because they are more open to giving days off and they are more likely to send the maid for courses and treat them like a family member. They might also be willing to pay more.'

Agents pointed out it is usually the Filipinos, who know English and are more savvy, who will insist on such terms.

But there are also a handful of maids of other nationalities, such as Sri Lankan Mita Samarasinha, 42, who put up an advertisement at a supermarket for the first time.

'My friend suggested doing so as she managed to find a nice employer this way,' said Ms Samarasinha, who is looking for an expatriate family because she is certain no local family would be willing to match her monthly $650 salary request.

Ms Shirley Ng, president of the Association of Employment Agencies Singapore, said that such a practice can be expected as the maids get more educated and informed of their rights.

Still, she offered a more positive point of view. 'If they state their demands upfront, it can lead to better matches and less unhappiness later,' she said, adding that employers are more open to such terms these days.

Pay Hike as supply of maids dry up (23 Jan 2011)

2011-01-23T17:53:00.000-08:00

Jan 23, 2011

Pay hike as supply of maids dries up

More agencies say they plan to increase salaries of new Indonesian domestic helpers

By Teh Joo Lin , Neo Wen Tong and Lim Yi Han

A week after news that 17 major maid agencies have banded together to raise the salaries of new Indonesian maids from $380 to $450, more agencies say they will follow suit.

If the drive gains traction, the pay hike - said to be the highest one-time increment for the Indonesians - could well set a new benchmark for Indonesian maids' salaries here.

Maid agencies say they have no choice: Supply of maids to Singapore has been drying up as more of them look to places that offer better pay like Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Singapore's stringent requirements - a minimum age requirement of 23 and an English entry test - have also not gone down well with potential maids.

Last week, news broke that 17 agencies - said to be major players - would be hiking the pay for Indonesian maids to ease the supply crunch.

Of the 30 maid agencies The Sunday Times interviewed, 18 said they would raise salaries of Indonesian maids. Eight said they were taking the wait-and-see approach, and four were not in favour.

These agencies said they were either pulling out of the Indonesian maid market or still discussing with their Indonesian labour suppliers before deciding.

Those who have jumped on the bandwagon include Comfort Employment director Benny Liew, who said seven in 10 customers want Indonesian maids.

'It's market forces. If there is someone who can offer a higher price and we don't match it, we will lose out,' he said.

Those agencies interviewed said they have already begun to supply maids on the higher pay or are in the process of informing prospective employers.

So far, employers have been willing to shell out the extra amount because the demand for Indonesian maids far outstrips the supply, they said.

Maids from Indonesia and the Philippines are the most sought after by employers, making up the majority of the estimated 196,000 maids here.

But other agencies and employers are suspicious of the move by the 17 agencies.

They doubt a $70 raise can reverse a long-running trend of declining supply and question if the move benefits the middlemen more than the maids - even though Mr Desmond Chin, group director of Nation Employment, one of the 17 agencies, has stated otherwise.

An agency operator, who declined to be named, wondered if the pay rise was a ploy to maintain profit margins ahead of the revised Employment Agencies Act to be implemented in April.

The new law puts the cap on the fee payable by the worker to the agency, to one month's salary per year of approved contract.

Opponents also suggested that the move was tantamount to price-fixing, given that the salary of the maid should be a private arrangement between her and her employer based on current market forces.

This is why the Association of Employment Agencies, as a trade body, cannot endorse the move, 'lest it be interpreted as an anti- competitive act', said president Shirley Ng.

When contacted, the Competition Commission of Singapore said it cannot say if any specific behaviour is anti-competitive without a thorough investigation. The spokesman did not say if an investigation was under way.

Mr Chin has rebutted the allegation of price-fixing.

He said yesterday: 'Even among the 17, not all of us agreed on $450. Each of us has our own agreements with the suppliers.'

The move did not imply that all Indonesian maids must have the same salary, which should be commensurate with their experience, abilities and qualifications, he added.

He also maintained that the move does not increase the profits of maid agencies, saying: 'It's for the good of the maids and the employers in the long term.'

Indonesian maids first became popular in the 1990s; they were an alternative source after the Philippines banned the deployment of maids in March 1995 over the hanging of Filipino maid Flor Contemplacion, who was convicted for the murders of her fellow maid and her four-year-old charge.

Supply has dwindled over the years as more families here look to domestic help, while other countries compete with Singapore for maids.

Employers in Hong Kong pay maids $650, while the Taiwanese pay them $800. In Singapore, their pay has gone from just $230 to $380 after more than a decade.

Recent developments have worsened the supply crunch.

A recent tightening of Philippine laws on citizens working abroad led to a plunge in the number of new maids from the Philippines, and forced some employers to switch to Indonesians.

Maids from countries such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka remain relatively unpopular, compounding the problem.

Speculation that the Indonesian government will lift a freeze on the supply of maids to Malaysia, imposed following several maid abuse cases, may also account for the latest pay hike.

When contacted, the Indonesian Embassy's labour attache Isnarti Hafan supported the move. The higher pay will shorten the time the maids need to clear their placement fees, she said.

Mr Rusjdi Basalam, secretary-general of the Indonesian Labour Exporters Association, said the move will attract higher interest and bolster supply.

'This would help turn around the currently declining interest of people wanting to work overseas. Media coverage on abuse on Indonesian migrant workers have scared them away,' he told The Sunday Times.

But the agencies themselves conceded that the new pay was still a long way from overseas salary levels, while the entry test and age requirement remained bottlenecks.

Maid agent Ronnie Toh, who said the pay increase might boost supply by 20 per cent, remarked: 'It'll be helpful, but I don't think it's enough.'

Association of Employment Agencies' Ms Ng said this latest move is a 'signal' that new maid sources such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos need to be considered.

She said: 'We cannot be relying on two main sources - Indonesia and the Philippines. Once these two countries turn off the tap, our economy will immediately suffer.'

Agency owners say the pay hike may lead to maids from other countries asking for higher pay and existing Indonesian maids threatening to terminate their contracts unless their employers top up their salaries.

Employers interviewed appear resigned to the prospect of paying more.

Business manager Joycelyn Ong, 30, who hired her Indonesian maid a month ago, said: 'If she really wants to leave, then I will have to give in and pay that extra $100, because finding a new maid is a lot of trouble and I have to pay the same amount anyway.'

But Indonesian maids interviewed said that money is not their sole concern.

Ms Sumarni, 39, who like many Indonesians, goes by just one name, earns $360 a month after a 12-year career but she is not complaining because she gets days off and enjoys a good relationship with her employer.

'It is still better to work for my employer again, because it's been so many years, and I won't know if my new employer will be good or not,' she said.

Learning to Fly Again

2011-01-18T18:05:00.000-08:00

I did it! The year on Ampligen is over, and I'm about to burst at the seams. Would you join me now in celebrating my victory?

If you watched the NFL playoffs this past weekend you saw the New York Jets doing on the field what I have felt like doing all week - literally doing backflips for joy. I mean, these players were so happy, they were getting airborne like circus acrobats! Why? Because they defeated a so called "invincible" enemy - the N.E. Patriots. (To see a clip of the Jets flying and flipping go here. ) Those players weren't saying "look at me." They were saying with their somersaults and handsprings, to all the other NFL teams who had gotten punched in the mouth by the Patriots, "Look! Those guys are not invincible. It was a war, but they CAN be beaten!"

And make no mistake, the Ampligen protocol is very much a war.

It's a war against a supposed "invincible enemy" that invaded my body;
It's a war against the "belief" that I am destined to be sick forever;
It's a war against doubt and fear, as the treatment itself can be worse than cure for many months.

As those of you who have been following my blog and adventure the past year know, for the entirety of 2010 I basically put my and my family's life on hold in order to move to a US city to receive 12 months of the "trial-drug" Ampligen. There is a good reason this medicine is defined as a "trial" - because it was one of the hardest things I've ever been through.

By suffering from M.E. you understand what a "trial" is. Ampligen makes our normal trial even worse for the first six months. In addition to being pricked twice a week and feeling like you have a horrible flu for about 6 months, from the drug and virus reaction to the drug infusions I've experienced sciatic nerve tremors, diarrhea, constipation, temporary vision loss, muscle aches, depression, loss of libido, loss of energy (what little I had), and a lot more.

During this trial I found out I knew curse words in languages I don't speak, and my wife learned when to stay away from me on bad days simply by watching my eyes dilate. If you really want the good bad and ugly details start with my first infusion report here on The New Ampligen Diaries and read through the year's "trials."

But despite all those physical side effects, and the concomitant emotional side effects, today as the battle draws to a close I have to say yes, it was worth it! Ampligen delivered as advertised! Although I don't have all the tests results from the clinic, by family's and co-worker's measurements, along with my own personal report-card, I am probably 70% better! We have a saying at the clinic- "Ampligen doesn't cure you or fix everything, but it gets you close." To see the before and after report card scroll down to the bottom of this earlier post.

But in short, after arriving here one year ago so sick I was barely able to walk, after one full year of Ampligen, today I am able to...

do my job about 6 hours a day (from my laptop, on the phone and Webex with my staff around the country),

go to the gym and do a 45 minutes a day in resistance exercise,

go to church every Sunday, and stand a long time,

even be funny occasionally.

I no longer have canker sores in my mouth, no more swollen glands, no more brain fog, and I even went to an NBA game last Thursday night and stayed for 2 quarters! My orthostatic intolerance has almost disappeared completely.

Yes, I still get tired by late afternoon, and but if I remember to get horizontal often during the day, even just for 10 minute bursts, I get new wind. Yes, my leg muscles do sometimes get sore, but nothing like they used to, and no more restless legs at night!

All in all, the reward I am experiencing now was worth the risk.

In that regard, by writing this post, I know I am risking hurting some of my fellow sufferers feelings, just by reporting the good news. I remember how bummed out I got a couple years ago when I read the testimony of a man who was completely healed of M.E. through an advanced anti-viral regimen in Europe - drugs that I had no ability or resource to get at the time. It made me feel all the more sick that day; and down.

Please understand my motivation here. I am neither trying to make you feel worse, nor lobbying that you follow my path and try to get this drug. I promised my followers and readers to tell the whole story, from beginning to end, in complete candor. To be honest, when I started I expected to be an apologist AGAINST Ampligen. I was fully prepared to blow the lid off of a scam. Or even die. But in my case, it wasn't...and I didn't!

That it turned out so well is something the journalist in me mandates I report, to give you some data. But more importantly, that it turned out so well is something the empathetic patient in me forces me to relate, to give you some hope.

Hope that these hideous bugs and pompous pain provokers can be stopped;

Hope that maybe very soon, there will be drugs affordable and more readily available* to all that really work;

Hope that these viruses, this enemy of ours, is not invincible.

Like the NY Jets, I'm saying, "Look, these viruses might have punched you in the mouth like me for years...but look! They can be beaten!"

Now I embark on a new journey. A journey where I learn how to live again. In order to "seal" my healing, I'm staying in the USA a awhile more. I'm moving to a Western town near the Rockies not only for the clean air and non-toxic environment, but because of its proximity to things I used to love to do. Many of you know before I got sick I was pretty adventurous. I flew aerobatic planes, was a flight instructor, won some awards soaring in gliders, and loved to ski and parasail.

I'm not sure I'll actually be able to do all these sports again, but I'm going to give em a shot. Because all of these sports have one thing in common- done correctly, you don't need the energy of a teenager or the strength of NY Jet to get airborne. You just have to know how to use gravity to your advantage.

So I'll be spending the next year or so learning how to fly again, with my new body. I promise I'll keep you posted on my progress, and as always, the times I mess up as well as the times of victory.

As both a victory celebration, and a vision for what I hope to be able to do again this coming year, I've put together a 4 minute You Tube music video entitled Learning to Fly Again. It motivates me every time I see it and hear the Foo Fighters music. I hope it does you too.

Kelvin Lord

Enroute to the Rockies

*I'll have some exciting news about this in my next post.

Maid who allegedly caused death of disabled girl only 16 (25 Dec 2010)

2010-12-28T15:43:00.000-08:00

AsiaOne News (25 Dec 2010)

The Indonesian maid who allegedly caused the death of her employer's 12-year-old disabled daughter may escape the gallows, even if she is found to be guilty, due to a discrepancy in her actual age.

As confirmed by her lawyer and officials from the Indonesian embassy, who went to her family in West Java Village, Nurhayati is 16, and not 24. Her age was confirmed after checking her school records and interviews with her family.

The death sentence cannot be imposed on a defendant below the age of 18, according to the Criminal Procedure Code.

The charge against her was amended in court on Friday. She is suspected of causing the death of Linda Lee, a 12-year-old special needs student, who was found at the foot of a Housing Board block in Hougang on November 24 this year.

The prosecution yesterday sought further remand for her, for evaluation with a child psychiatrist. Her case will be mentioned again on Friday, December 31.

The maid's family, according to her lawyer Mr Mohamed Muzammil Mohamed, are 'extremely concerned with the well-being of Nurhayati,'

In an interview with ChannelNewsAsia, he also said: "They were also very apprehensive because we were informed that there were people who had in fact threatened them with regards to the age, not to reveal the actual age to us."

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) had increased the minimum age of maids from 18 to 23 years in 2005.

In a Straits Times report today, maid agencies here said that it is not unusual for maids to lie about their ages, with the average lying by three to five years.

In the case of Indonesian maids, the agencies also said that it is harder to verify their actual ages, as many do not have birth certificates.

Agencies will net a three-point demerit from MOM when a maid is found to have falsely declared her age. Twelve demerit points will merit a warning and a spot on the surveillance list, while further offences may cause its licence to be revoked.

Verifying the age of maids can be a problem

2010-12-15T18:25:00.000-08:00

Verifying the age of maids can be a problem: employment agencies
By Channel NewsAsia, Updated: 16/12/2010

SINGAPORE — Their age on their passport is 23 — the minimum age requirement for a domestic maid in Singapore — but they look younger, like teenagers.

It is not known how many foreign domestic workers (FDW) here are under—aged but the practice of falsifying one’s age is quite common among developing countries, though not confined to domestic workers, non—government organisations (NGOs) and employment agencies (EA) told Channel NewsAsia.

Driven by poverty or coerced into working overseas, these women allow recruiters to fix their passports.

The lack of documentation and birth certificates, and lax bureaucratic controls make this possible. Employment agencies and NGOs said the incidence is more prevalent among Indonesians.

Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics’ (Home) president Bridget Lew said: "Indonesians tend to marry much younger, like around 16, whereas Filipinas marry around 20 ...They need the money for their families and do not think (over—stating their age) is a crime."

However, she pointed out that under—aged FDWs working here are more of an exception than the norm.

Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) president John Gee told Channel NewsAsia that the raising of the minimum age to 23 could have made applicants "more inclined to be dishonest".

Home and TWC2 believe the responsibility lies with employment agencies to do more thorough checks.

But EAs told Channel NewsAsia the burden is too onerous.

A common refrain: Who are we to contest the legality of the passport?

A number of employment agencies told Channel NewsAsia that they rely on their recruiters in the source country to weed out underaged applicants.

"Our recruiters are very careful to follow Singapore’s law," said Best Helper’s sales manager, who gave his name only as Kelvin.

A few, though, do make trips down to the source country and interview the applicants themselves, such as AUK Management Services’ executive consultant, Stephen Chia.

"I observe how she answers my questions, how confident she is. This is in addition to looking at her date of birth in her passport," he said.

Crislo Resources’ director Roy Castello told MediaCorp he makes it a point to check an applicant’s educational certificates, the "akta lahir" — a family tree record — and identification card.

Even so, both Mr Chia and Mr Castello admit the process is not foolproof.

The Association of Employment Agencies Singapore’s (AEAS) vice—president Allan Wee said some employment agents have sent back FDWs that looked too young.

EAs which knowingly bring in an underage FDW will be breaching Employment Agency licensing conditions. They will be given demerit points and placed on a surveillance list. Any further breaches by the EAs, while still on the list, could lead to a suspension of their licence. Those who bring in underage FDWs are also required to repatriate these FDWs and to bear the cost of repatriation.

Mr Wee added: "It’s not worth getting into trouble with the government — we could lose our licence."

He added that as competition for FDWs increase, especially from Taiwan and Hong Kong where FDWs are paid more, there have been calls from within the industry to lower the minimum age of FDWs to 21 years.

Paid Sick Leave for maids

2010-11-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

There were some discussions on another page, about whether employers need to pay the maid her salary for the days that she is sick and unable to work. My comment was that we should treat our maids, in the same way as our employers treat us. When we are sick, we are given paid sick leave. So the maid should also be paid her full salary when she is too sick to work.

Some employers demanded to know whether there is anything written in black and white that we must give paid sick leave to the maid.

One employer has confirmed with MOM that when a maid is sick or hospitalized, the employer should still pay her the full salary. This is not exactly stated in the work permit conditions, but there is another condition : the employer shall pay the FDW her salary not later than seven days after the last day of the salary period. This means that the FDW must always be paid her salary, regardless of whether she is well enough to work or not.

However, if the maid damaged items which belong to the employer, we can still make them pay for the item. Please read this page :

Maids paying for damaged items

Employers should remember that the maid is a human being with complex feelings, just like us. We will definitely not be motivated to work if our boss deduct our salary when we were sick. The maid will also not work hard for you if her salary is deducted when she is sick.

Breaking Out!

2010-10-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

There was a prison breakout in the USA this past weekend of historic proportion. And like most escapes that require patience and tenacity, this one took 10 long months of preparation. But when the time came, the escapee acted almost without thinking, and ran with freedom in his eyes, and hope burning in his heart. No, this isn't the story of a convicted felon escaping from the County jail. Although it did have to do with a guy escaping from his incarcerated state.

This is the story of me, doing something absolutely insane this past weekend. Something that was seminal to my progress, critical to my healing process, and something I felt I just had to do. After 10 long months being "stuck" in this place, last Thursday, I made a run for it. I escaped!

On a whim, after my Ampligen infusion last Thursday I went to the airport, bought a ticket for a 4 hour non-stop flight, and flew to Denver, Colorado! By myself! I then rented a car, drove an hour North, and spent the weekend in beautiful Ft. Collins, enjoying the crisp clean air underneath the majestic Rocky mountains.Yes, this means that I had enough energy and cognitive ability to follow a map to a place I'd never been, check into a hotel, and live at mile-high altitude. Yes, this means that the Ampligen is working better than advertised, and that my health is actually being restored. But it also meant something else of equal importance. Let me explain.

To say I have felt like a horse cooped up in a corral for the past 10 months would not be an exaggeration. As you know, when I moved here to begin the twice-weekly Ampligen infusion protocol, I could barely walk. Because my wife couldn't stay with me full time in this new town, we hired a cook and a maid to help me. That I needed this level of assistance when I started was not over-kill; I literally could not stand long enough to fry myself an egg ten months ago. Apart from going to the clinic every Monday and Thursday to get pricked by Gwen, for the first six months I was pretty much a one-trick pony. Week after week I would live on the couch, leaving my "pen" only to go to the clinic, and occasionally to church on Sunday. Having the helpers was awesome, but I still felt like I was in a modern prison.

As I've written about previously, after 6 months, something changed. The side effects started to abate. Energy slowly returned. I initiated a very slow program of exercise, walking and going to the gym near my apartment. I stopped the services of my cook, and began shopping and cooking for myself (bachelor-style). I let my maid go, and have lived without help for over 6 weeks now. In short, I started to experience a taste of "normal" life - a free life - for the first time in a very long time! But that small taste of freedom presented me with a problem.

You see, although I was actually starting to take baby steps toward living a healed life, as clearly evidenced in my actions and in my body, my mind was still 'stuck' in protective mode; "sick" mode. Call it habit or fear or both, even though I could see myself making lots of progress, I was still scared.

Scared that the healing would be short-lived;
Scared that if I did just one more thing, I would crash;
Scared that after all this time, I wouldn't remember how to live!

That fear and self-protection habit was like a chain around my heart. If faith is the evidence of things not yet seen, then fear is the doubt of things already known. And I clearly was still acting like a sick person, imprisoned by my limitations. Even though the evidence said otherwise.

It came to a head last week when a social activity was presented to me and I turned it down immediately...out of habit! Despite all my test scores and charts* showing amazing progress, despite 6 full weeks of living independently and going to the gym everyday with energy, despite aching for friends and social interaction, when they asked if I could go, I said as I had so many times in the past, "no, I better not."

Ten seconds later it hit me. "What was I thinking????" I had gotten so good at living "within" my limitations, I couldn't break out of my limitations. I was an expert at living like a sick person! And it infuriated me.

Here I was at Week 40 on the Ampligen protocol, with 20 years of published research telling me that people were healed on Ampligen by Week 40, yet I still was on guard. Here I was with six full weeks of independent living, yet I was still playing it "safe." Like the men released from prison who still sleep on the floor after being released from incarceration, even though they now have a bed, I was trapped by the habits learned over years of sickness. Those habits protected me at the time, clearly. They probably kept me alive. But now, they were like quicksand, keeping me "stuck" in a place I should no longer be.

Years ago, long before I got sick, I was trapped in quicksand once. Well, more accurately, my horse Gypsy was trapped in quicksand, with me on her back. Both the horse and I knew the serious trouble we were in, as we sank immediately up to the top of my boots, and then kept sinking about an inch per second. Gypsy thrashed at first, but that only made things worse. Thankfully, I was with an experienced equestrian, my best friend Ed, who as a cowboy in Arizona knew exactly what to do.

Dismounting and coming over to me while still on dry land, he leaned carefully over, grabbed the reins from the bit, stood slightly to the right in front of Gypsy's good eye, and smiled at her. By this time the quicksand was inching close to my knees, and both the horse, and I, were getting nervous.

Then Ed said something I thought at the time was the most ridiculous thing I could have heard at that moment.

"We have to get her mind off the sinking, and on to the running." Ed said seriously. "She's a racer at heart" he continued, "so we have to get her brain out of that there quicksand, and her body will follow."

Because Ed was my only hope, I decided against vocalizing either my doubts about his idea, or asking him why he said "that there" when as a Scottsdale native his English was normally otherwise perfect. Instead I just asked "How do we do that?"

"Well, on the count of tree" Ed said smiling, clearly enjoying this cowboy twang he decided to adopt at this moment, "I'll fire off my pistola here, and you give her a good kick in the hindquarter with your spurs, and she'll think she's in a race, and just run right out!"

Ignoring the fact that I wasn't wearing spurs, and only because I had no other bright idea, I did what Ed said. Pulling my legs out of the muck slowly and positioning my boots backwards, when Ed reached the count of "tree", I gave Gypsy the hardest kick I could muster, just in time for her to hear Ed's .357 "crack" like an explosion.

Amazingly, Gypsy did exactly as Ed had predicted. In one giant thrust, she jumped or hoisted her front legs violently out of the muck up onto the dry land, leveraged her remaining 2000 pound rear out of the quicksand, got her back legs grounded, and took off running! With me grabbing her mane and holding on for dear life, we ran around that bog in a giant circle at least three times - Gypsy so thrilled with her freedom and the thought of racing that she simply carved her own curved track in the desert!

Leaving the clinic this past Thursday, the thought of facing another long weekend alone in my apartment, combined with the recollection of my stupid knee-jerk rejection of a social invitation, was enough to make me say to myself, "enough!" I had to break out of this place I was stuck in. I had to get my mind out of the muck.

I didn't have the sound of a gun going off to snap me out of it. But I did give myself a giant kick in the butt - and when I boarded that plane to Denver, I started to feel my legs find solid ground. When I got off the plane with no luggage whatsoever, and entered that gorgeous DIA terminal, you couldn't stop me. I jogged down the ramp grinning from ear to ear, passing the people mover like I was Gypsy, out of the sinkhole, racing again.

Until this past weekend, I was sort of stuck in a quicksand of my own making. And I needed something to get "my mind off the sinking, and on to the running." Because just like Gypsy, before I got sick, I too was a runner at heart.

This short spontaneous trip to Denver did it for me, and it was glorious. I had a super three day vacation, with no pain, no loss of energy, no feelings of being stuck. When you compare my life to where I was 10 months ago, it's almost miraculous! Yet of all the tests I've taken, this was the test that really confirmed for me this amazing drug Ampligen is really working!

Now for these final 3 months of treatment, I know what my job is. As long as I can keep my brain out of that there quicksand, my body will follow.

*Below is my personal comparison chart that shows my progress over the past ten months, comparing when I arrived and started Ampligen in January, and today. The clinic keeps detailed records and measures all Ampligen patient's progress through a number of empirical tests, regular blood work, EKGs, a running Karnofsky Score, and other physical exams and tests. However that information under the terms of the "trial protocol" cannot be revealed here. My guess is that the chart below would simply confirm that which the clinic has in their records about my progress.

Interview with Dr. Lapp - A Pioneer and Patriarch

2010-10-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

To give you an idea how long Chuck Lapp has been serving the CFS/ME community, think about this - Before Steve Jobs invented the Macintosh Computer, Dr. Charles Lapp was contacting the CDS about a mysterious new illness. Dr. Lapp has been treating and specializing in CFS patients for over 25 years. He was one of the founders of the CFIDS Association in Charlotte, and continues to be one of the leading physicians in the field, always on the cutting edge of new therapies and drug trials. In the USA today, only 2 physicians are administering the drug Ampligen, Dr. Lapp in Charlotte, and Dr. Peterson in Reno. We caught up with Chuck Lapp as he was on his way to a speaking engagement in Atlanta.

Kelvin: Dr. Lapp, you have been specializing in this disease for over two decades, and moved to Charlotte in the early 1990's to team up with Dr. Cheney to launch the first group of physicians who took this infirmity seriously. Tell us about those days.

Dr. Lapp: I saw my first patients with this disease in 1983, and began researching CFS in earnest in 1985. I made contact with Paul Cheney at that time and we started seeing patients together around 1988. Although at that time I was commuting back and forth between Raleigh and Charlotte, where I ran a large family practice. In late 1991 I moved full time to Charlotte, where the Ampligen studies had just begun, and I was placed in charge of the Ampligen patients. Dave Bell joined us for 2 years as I recall between 1989 and 1991. Dr. Myra Preston also shared office space with us. When Marc Iverson's CFS support group started growing, we used it as the base for launching what today is known as CAA or the CFIDS Association.

Kelvin: You mentioned in the past that in those early days, you and Cheney were trying everything you could think of to help CFS/ME patients. Like Edison with his light bulb, you had many things that did NOT work, and some that did. Tell us about some of those.

Dr. Lapp: I counted it up and there were over 120 "ideas" we tested or researched, based on what we read in journals, or heard at meetings with other physicians. As you know, in those days, very little was known about the disease, so we were trying everything we could just to help patients. For example some of the treatments we discovered that did help included:

B12- helped
Dietary changes- helped
CoQ10 and Krebs Cycle intermediates such as malate and magnesium-helped
Aquatherapy-usually helped a lot!
Of course beginning with the trials in 1991, Ampligen showed great promise

Some of the things that did not work out well included:

Oral Interferon- some patients got worse
Ambotrose/Mannatech- no help
Heparin for presumed excess histamine and coag problems - no help
Ocytocin- minimal help
Treating oxidation radicals- no help

I should tell you that there were loads of "theories" floating around as well, many of them we put to the test. For example, NONE of these theories panned out:

"AIDS Minor" or idiopathic C4 Lymphophenia
Sedimentation rate as a marker for CFS
Urine pH as a marker for CFS
Stealth (foamy) virus

Kelvin: With almost 20 years experience treating patients with Ampligen, in general what results have you seen?

Dr. Lapp: You know that FDA regulations limit what I can say publicly- during a trial period we are restricted as to what we can reveal about any drug before it receives approval, so I have to be careful here. On our site at the Hunter Hopkins Center we quote the Medical Director of Hemispherx Biopharma who said based on their research "Ampligen may be the first drug to demonstrate safety and effectiveness in the treatment of CFS." But I would tell you that our overall experience with Ampligen has been good. We have patients who have made remarkable improvements; patients who have made modest improvements, and patients who have made no improvement at all. Overall the drug has been well tolerated. I cannot recall anyone who got worse on Ampligen. It is interesting to note that with the latest news whirlwind regarding CFS and the XMRV virus, that in early September 2010 Hemispherx posted a study where test subjects receiving Ampligen who were XMRV antibody positive performed better on exercise tests than the others. We're still waiting for more data on that, but readers can see all the details on the CFIDS Association website.

Kelvin: What makes Ampligen different than all the other treatments you've used over the years?

Dr. Lapp: It is not clear how Ampligen actually works, but the drug is known to have antiviral and immune modulating properties. Preliminary studies ahve shown activity against retroviruses (like HIV) as well. Ampligen also modulates interferon-induced RNaseL and PKR antiviral systems of the body, which have been closely associated with CFS. Most importantly, Ampligen is the only medication that has undergone rigorous study for the treatment of CFS, not just treatment of CFS symptoms.

Kelvin: You don't accept all patients who want Ampligen. What makes for a good Ampligen candidate?

Dr. Lapp: The only way to obtain Ampligen today is to enter an FDA-approved research study known as AMP-511. This is a cost recovery program, which means that researchers are required to recover the cost of treatment from the patient. Previously this program was known as "compassionate care." This type of program requires patients be very ill and have not responded to reasonable previous treatments. specific exclusionary and inclusion criteria are specified by the FDA, and can be viewed by going to www.clinicaltrials.gov and search on Trial NCT00125813.

Kelvin: Dr. Lapp, you are one of the few Doctors who has not only met Dr. Carter and the rest of the lead staff at Hemispherx Biopharma, but have had a relationship with them for almost 2 decades. What in your opinion is the future of Ampligen? Can you give us any hope that it will be approved, and finally made available to patients beyond the "cost recovery" program?

Dr. Lapp: Yes, I can. Again, I am limited by regulation as to how much I can say, but let me say this... Last December the FDA responded to Hemispherx's New Drug Application with a "Complete Response Letter." This letter provided recommendations for improving the application, which implies that the drug is ultimately approvable. The Complete Response Letter suggested that Hemispherx perform one more study and clear up some questions about drug safety - specifically effects on immune activation and carcinogenicity. Dr. Carter, Dr. strayer, and senior members in the company all indicated that Hemispherx wants to pursue approval and has the wherewithal to do that.

Kelvin: When I search "Google Scholar" I see there are a number of published, journal articles on the efficacy of Ampligen in combination with other drugs. For example, last year during the swine flu scare, Ampligen was shown to augment flu medications, and make them work faster. In the future, if Ampligen is approved, could you see patients using Ampligen in combination with other treatments?

Dr. Lapp: Oh yes, absolutely. In the early days of CFS research, all the CFS guys and all the HIV guys would meet together, because Ampligen could potentiate so many of the AIDS medications. We've known this for years. So once approved, combination therapy with Ampligen would be a natural, a given.

Kelvin: OK, Dr. Lapp, last question. You are known for your compassion for patients with CFS/ME. You often absorb your own incidental costs related to Ampligen infusions, you have been known to let out of town patients stay at your home, you have resisted raising your prices for years, and you even have made house calls. What is the root of that generosity?

Dr. Lapp: Well, you know I have great empathy for CFS sufferers. I don't know that "generosity" is the right word though. More appropriately it is a desire to find a cure for this heinous illness and to make promising therapies available and affordable. The cost of receiving Ampligen in our clinic is $2000/month and many insurers will cover a large part of that cost. All medicine is expensive these days, but when you consider that the costs for treating rheumatoid arthritis, MS, cancer and other disorders are many times more expensive, it puts it into a different perspective I guess. We do all we can here to make treatment as affordable and available to our patients as possible. We have had patients come here to Charlotte, move here in fact, from all over the world, to get Ampligen. One of the things I love telling potential patients who are considering Ampligen is how compassionate our entire staff is. As hundreds of her followers and patients know, Dr. Black, who also administrates our Facebook site has a special empathy for our patients. And all of our Ampligen patients know and love Wendy, who they see twice a week for infusions. She is literally sticking them with needles every Monday and Thursday, and yet they all smile when they see her! I think that's what sets our office here at Hunter Hopkins Center apart from others.

Kelvin: Thank you Dr. Lapp.

Maid broke toddler's bone (Sep 28, 2010)

2010-09-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Sep 28, 2010

Maid broke toddler's bone

By Elena Chong

A FILIPINO maid who was massaging her employer's three-year-old son pulled his leg so forcefully that his right thigh bone was broken.

Myla Cabradilla Cabuenas, 30, then told her employer that the toddler had fallen at home and injured his knee.

But the employer, who had wired her home with cameras, viewed the video footage and saw what the maid had done to the boy. He has a history of developmental delay and suffers from epilepsy.

She told her husband, a 36-year-old engineer, who then called the police.

Yesterday, the maid was jailed nine months for ill-treating the child under her care at her employer's home on July 1.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Asran Samad said the maid was alone with the boy when she placed him on a mattress and began massaging his legs. She had been hired three months earlier to perform basic physiotherapy techniques, including massaging the boy, and caring for him.

Tamarind :

When a maid is abused by an employer, she can always run away and call for help. What happens when babies are abused by maids ? Babies cannot talk, they cannot tell you what have happened to them. We will never know how many babies have been abused by maids. Here are more cases of the horrifying things that maids can do, which include murder. The truth is that there may be many more cases that were not reported.

May 12, 2010

Maid accused of sex with boy

By Elena Chong

AN INDONESIAN maid was hauled to court on Wednesday for having sex with her employer's 12-year-old son.

The 27-year-old is alleged to have caused the boy, with his consent, to engage in oral sex at the HDB unit in the east on Dec 25 last year.

She is also accused of causing the boy to have sex with her sometime at end-June and mid-December last year. The fourth charge under the Children and Young Persons Act states that she committed an obscene act with a child by engaging in sex and oral sex with him between end-June and Dec 25.

The court has ordered the name of the victim to be withheld or anything that will lead to his identification.

If convicted of the sexual penetration of a minor under 16, she can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined on each charge. The maximum penalty for the CYPA charge is a fine of up to $5,000 and/or a jail term of up to two years.

The short and bespectacled domestic worker was offered bail of $20,000. Her passport was impounded. She will appear in court again on May 19.

Grief-stricken hubby gives up on life

By Chong Shin Yen

17 Sep 2010

IT has been said that when you lose a loved one, a part of you dies too.

And that may be true of Mr Drake Poh.

The Singaporean businessman lost his wife and daughter when they were killed by their maid six years ago.

Gone was the love of his life, his companion, his confidante - the woman he had fallen in love with at first sight.

They had been married for only four years when tragedy struck.

And Mr Poh, 50, never got over their deaths.

He lost the will to live.

Last Friday, he died from complications due to kidney failure.

His sister, Madam Jenny Poh, 44, said that he had a kidney transplant in India 16 years ago.

But after his wife's death, Mr Poh stopped watching his diet.

Said Madam Poh, a housewife: 'When his wife was around, she would cook for him and take care of him. She made sure he stuck to a strict and healthy diet.

'After she died, he couldn't be bothered anymore.'

Mr Poh's wife, Madam Angie Ng, 34, and their daughter, Crystal, 3, were stabbed to death in his sixth-storey office at Block 165, Bukit Merah Central, on 28May, 2002.

Their maid, Sundarti Supriyanto, then 22, had set the place on fire. She was found outside the burning unit by firefighters, carrying the couple's son, Leon, who was then 18 months old.

Sundarti was jailed for life for manslaughter in September 2004.

Indon maid caught abusing baby on CCTV

http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20080205-48359.html

5 Feb 2008

AN Indonesian maid has been arrested by the police for abusing her employers' two-month old baby boy at their home after video recording showing her hitting and kicking the infant was posted by the parents on YouTube.

The maid, who is in her mid 20s, has been released on bail, following questioning by the police. But investigation is still ongoing.

The baby's parents were was shocked when they saw recorded images of the maid abusing the baby in her Paya Lebar Crescent home, which were captured by a closed circuit TV they had installed recently.

They filed a police report on Jan 26, and also posted the video recording on YouTube, outraging many Netizens.

The series of six videos (http://youtube.com/user/oreomummi) has attracted more than 36,000 views.

Many who saw the videos bristled with anger.

PrincessJuly83 said in her posting: 'I'm so angry after watching the videos. How can the maid do something inhuman like that?? I'm a mother of 2 and I know how heart breaking it is to see your own baby getting abused liked that. I hope the baby is fine, without any internal or external injuries.'

Another said: 'I am so upset about it. Really angry with the maid. Never comfortable with having maid taking care of baby and young children without other adult around them. Good that you have CCTV and find out early. poor baby.'

Another angry Netizen added: 'Can we know which agency this maid is from? And what is the punishment for this maid?. Hope she doesn't just get away by just sending back to her country. Hope that baby is healthy though.'

The employers said they decided to install the CCTV after reading media reports of maids abusing their young charges.

They were horrified and shocked when the very first video recording they did caught the maid in the violent act.

'The maid appears mild and gentle in front of us. We never suspect she would be so cruel to our baby,' Madam Wong was quoted as saying by an online site.

She decided to put up the video on YouTube to warn other parents who have maids looking other their babies.

Indonesian maid jumps after dropping baby from 23rd floor

2004

SINGAPORE (DPA): An Indonesian maid flung a 5-month-old baby boy down 23 stories to his death and then threw herself off the window ledge of the flat seconds later, Singapore police said on Sunday.

The body of the boy, Yap Soon Heng, dressed in a white shirt and pink pants, was found lying on a grass patch on Saturday while the maid, identified as Sulastri, landed in shrubs and palm trees about 5 meters away.

Soon Heng's parents had left him and Sulastri at hisgrandparents' flat earlier that day, neighbors told The Sunday Times. The couple, in their 30s, took their 3-year-old daughter out shopping.

Sources said Soon Heng was sleeping in the bedroom when Sulastri walked in and scooped him up into her arms.

She stood on a wooden stool and climbed out onto the window ledge, where she sat with the crying baby balanced precariously on her lap for at least five minutes before letting go of the boy.

"She was sitting there ... and kept turning her head back as if she was talking to someone inside the room," said John Chua, 43, an eyewitness.

"Suddenly, she just extended her arms out and let the baby slip from her hands," he was quoted as saying. "A while later, she pushed herself off the ledge with her hands."

He saw an elderly man, believed to be the child's grandfather, look down from the window.

Neighbors said they heard raised voices earlier in the day. Later the boy's grandmother started sobbing and screaming.

Sulastri had been working for the family for less than a year. (***)

Maid kicks, kicks and kicks child

Apr 02, 2009

A STOMPer came across this shocking video online, of a maid physically abusing a young child.

The contributor of the video said this actually happened to the child of his sister's friend.

Police confirmed that the case happened in Kuala Lumpur in 2007 and the maid was jailed 24 months.

WARNING: Video may be disturbing to some viewers.

Click the following link to view the video :

http://multimedia.asiaone.com/Multimedia/Vodcast/Multimedia/Story/A1Multimedia20090402-6319.html

Tamarind:
There is no doubt that some employers ill treat their maids. Take a look at the official figures, click on the following to view the details.

Life looking better for foreign maids
December 12, 2009

From the news article :
The number of maid abuse cases and deaths in accidents or by suicide has come down.
The declines are significant because the number of maids has risen from about 160,000 in 2005 to 190,000 now.

Tamarind:
There were only 53 cases of maid abuse in 2008. Note that 53 out of 190,000 is only 0.028%. From Jan - Sep 2009, there are only 32 cases reported. The truth is that very few employers ill treat their maids in Singapore. In any case, whatever these employers did to the maid, no babies deserve to be abused by the maid.

Exercising Discipline

2010-08-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

I absolutely hated gym class in Junior High. I was a skinny kid growing faster than my Mom could sew, and I had no arm muscles whatsoever. So when the dreaded "physical exam" days came around, I usually got physically sick. Trust me, vomiting cereal before you have to do pull-ups does not help your score. But it didn't matter. Because I could not even do one pull-up, even on a good day, with my belly full of Captain Crunch. When the diameter of your arms is smaller than that of the pull-up bar itself, the bar will win every time.

What made it such a trauma for me was that you had to do these supposed "feats of strength" in front of both the gym teacher, and your classmates. And here was the rub: You had, as the teacher would always announce in that bellowing voice, "a full 60 seconds to do as many pull-ups as you possibly can!"

Well, when you can't do even one pull-up, having sixty full seconds isn't an advantage, it is just out and out child abuse. I mean, how long does it take me to do zero pull-ups? I'll tell you straight out- about zero seconds. But yet there I was, hanging by my skinny saplings called arms, humiliated, with all my friends snickering for what seemed like an eternity. And my masochistic gym teacher with his stopwatch and mocking attitude actually making me hang there for a full sixty seconds, shouting "come on, you can at least do one!" Mercifully, I finally heard him click that stopwatch, and say robotically, "Exercise complete."

It's funny how the very same words can be either cruel or motivating, depending on the delivery. For years, that memory, and the teacher's shout, haunted me like a bad dream. Until of course, I got to college, started eating Freshman portions, and allowed my fraternity brothers to teach me about weight lifting and exercise. The very first time I had an upperclassman show me the benchpress, he was spotting me, and that weight came down on my chest like an anvil. But with true belief in his voice, plus a little testosterone, he said, "Come on, you can do it! Do just one! All it takes is a start!" And to my surprise, I actually pushed that 135 pounds off my chest, and back into the rack. His belief in me, and seeing other guys benefiting from exercise, was all I needed. My commitment to exercise began that day in college as a 17 year old freshman. In one semester I went from being a gangly 6 feet, 140 pounds, to a muscular 6'1 190 pounds.

From that day on, sports, fitness and exercise were part of me for a full 15 years, until I got sick. But M.E. as you know, of course changed everything.

For the past many years, and more dramatically in the months leading up to my starting Ampligen, I have watched my energy, and my ability to exercise, diminish. It got so bad, that when I arrived in this city to begin the Ampligen protocol, I couldn't walk from the airplane gate to the baggage claim. I was no longer 190 pounds. I had no muscularity left. I was barely 167 pounds of weakness with skinny arms. You could have given me a full sixty seconds, and I still could not have done one pull-up.

But that's all changed now. Today, seven months after arriving here and being almost completely bed-bound, I am exercising again! It started slowly, but for the past full month, I've been going to the gym now almost every morning. I give the credit to Ampligen, and the amazing new things it has done to my body. But I also approached exercise this time in a new way as well. I guess some would call it a "holistic" approach, in that I decided to exercise more than just my body, but my soul and spirit as well.

It only makes sense. My doctor has told me for years that too much "mental" work is just as bad for me as lifting too many weights. I can crash after walking too much just as easily as typing too much. Psychologists and theologians alike teach us that our soul, which is comprised of our intellect, our will and our emotions, can affect our bodies, and vice versa.

So here's how I've been exercising all three:

My Body- Dr. Irma Rey, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Sport Team Physician at the University of Miami, now working with Dr. Nancy Klimas says we should take a "low and slow" approach to exercise. Her research shows that especially for M.E. patients, we need to do exercises that are low in intensity, and slow in progress, so we don't crash. Because we have post exertional malaise working against us, because we build up lactic acid faster than "normal" people, we cannot exercise to exhaustion, or we will crash and burn big time the next day.

So Dr. Rey recommends a workout similar to what I've been using. Stretching, light short low weight lifting sets with long rest periods in between. If I do 1 minute of exercise, I wait a good 5 minutes to do the next one. And never do too much in one day. Dr. Rey recommends doing 2 short workouts a day, to restore energy.

This is what Dr. Darrel Ho Yen recommends in his brilliant concept of our thinking of energy as money. He says "Don't spend it all at one time, in one place." I've applied this concept to my exercise routine, and make sure if I spend an hour at the gym, fully 30 minutes or more of that is resting in between sets. But I also plan my entire day ahead of time, and count the walks I'll take, the time I'll be vertical in the grocery store, etc.And I don't want to "spend" energy on stupid things, like being in a long line at the bank. I'll do my banking online, thank you! Dr. Rey also recommends doing stretches in the pool, because the cool water can help blood pressure, and allow us to stand longer than our Orthostatic intolerance would normally allow us to do without the buoyancy of the water. The point is, even if your are stuck in bed- do something. Do stretches. Even if it's just one minute, her research shows that the benefits of stretching and releasing endorphins (which she says are more powerful pain relievers and mood elevators than opiates) are worth it.

My Soul- Exercising my mind, my will and emotions also takes planning, and for me, some sort of disciplined approach. So I make sure I plan my exercise routine for my soul each week as well. This includes playing some online mental stimulators like Texas Hold-em or Sudoku, trying to play the piano a little, participating in some online forums, and of course, listening to music.

My neurotherapist Kim Phillips told me for the sake of my sleep time, I should not do these things at night, because they stimulate my brain too much, and can keep me falling into REM. She also told me that sexual intercourse and orgasms release good chemicals. The other thing that exercises my soul pretty well is a good comedy movie. As they say, laughter is good medicine. The one thing I recommend you not do is watch too much talking head TV, like Olberman, O'Reilly, Beck, Maddow etc., because the negativity they spout actually counteracts the good chemicals that the aforementioned things stimulate. Similarly, if an online Forum moves from informative and supportive, to an online debate, don't participate. Just choose to not engage. As my doctor said, stay away from toxins, including toxic people. You don't need those chemicals right now. Exercise the discipline of your will and let good stuff into your soul. Not the negative.

My Spirit - This past Sunday, I decided I wanted to actually "go" to church, and participate in the worship service because I wanted to sing. Many Sunday's in the past, because of the debilitation of M.E., and because of Ampligen's side-effects, I would watch the services "live" on the Internet, from my bed. TV church isn't bad, but there is nothing like singing along with a 100-member gospel choir to lift my spirits, so if I have the energy, I go.

The problem with that in the past has been, this is a classic Baptist church in the Bible belt, so there is no such thing as a 3-minute song a hallelujah and then you sit down. Oh, no, no, no- help me Lord! These songs all have 7 verses and 8 choruses, and then we do it all over again. It's lively. It's inspiring. It's a lot of fun. Most of all it is healing. Dr. Graham Welch, Chair of Music at University of London cites research that shows that when we sing, the brain and the endocrine system release healing hormones, endorphins, as well as cortisol and immunoglobulin. When you follow that with an inspired sermon that builds my faith in God, and the future, well, I leave feeling whole. But many Sundays, I just haven't had the energy reserves to get out of bed. Let alone stand with the congregation for all those songs.

This past Sunday, really having a desire to sing and participate, I said to my wife, "I just don't know if I can do it."

"Do what?" she said, as she continued putting on her Sunday dress.

"Stand there all that time and sing all those songs," I replied, remembering the choir.

With echoes of past teachers and fraternity brothers bouncing around my brain, she said the only thing that I needed.

"Then just sing one. At least you can do that."

And so we went, and that's exactly what I did. I sang one. Then another one. Then 5 more. For 45 minutes, non-stop, on my feet.

Exercise complete.

Harder to hire Filipino maids now

2010-08-17T23:56:00.000-07:00

The Straits Times

18 August 2010

Click on the above image to read the article.

All employers should take note that the government of Philippines require all maids to be paid at least SGD540 and four days off a month.

There are maid agencies which tell you that you can get a Filipino maid for SGD350 a month, they are obviously telling lies. You are actually cheating the embassy if you take a Filipino maid and pay her less than SGD540.

I have heard comments that Filipino maids are better at taking care of babies and small children, as compared to Indonesian maids. This is not true.

I have used both Filipino and Indonesian maids before, my Indonesian maids are actually much better at taking care of my kids when they were babies. Experienced Indonesian maids, like my current maid, Siti, are very hygienic, patient and caring.

Since it is more difficult to employ Filipino maids now, employers should just search for maids of other nationalities.

Embracing Reality

2010-08-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

I admit it.

I really blew it, big time. Two weeks ago, after my last "glowing" report about how good I was feeling at the 6-month mark, I took it too far, and overdid it. I moved from the reality of my health, to a fantasy world of my own making, which convinced me I was almost healed. It was not only stupid, but because I knew I was only half-way through the treatment protocol, it was unrealistic.

I've had this problem of moving into unrealistic expectations all my life, even before I got sick.

I remember in the 5th grade, setting up my little home-built "Estes" rocket in the driveway of our Southern California home, convinced that I was launching something straight out of NASA. Based on the big color advertisement in Popular Science magazine, I had convinced myself that my "Explorer" rocket would fly straight up over my house, reach apogee, take a picture with its little onboard camera, fire off a parachute, and come floating down into my hands on a perfect trajectory. I was an astronaut!

"How cool!" I thought.

Of course it didn't turn out to be quite that cool.

After struggling for an eternity on aching knees with the little battery powered igniter that just refused to work, I finally had to do the unthinkable. I asked my Grandmother Flo to come over and help me. Now, you have to know, no 9-year rocketeer ever wants to have to ask his Grandmother Flo to help him do anything, but since she was the only person in our family who smoked, and had fire, I recruited her to my pyrotechnic team.

"Do you have any experience with rocketry, grandma?" I asked semi-seriously.

"No," she said, while taking a big drag on her 30th Viceroy cigarette of the day, "but that won't matter a whit. I'm game!" And even with her depression-era manner of speaking, I knew she was.

"Just take your lighter and touch that fuse there, grand..."

Before I could get the rest of "ma" out of my mouth, I heard a "whoosh" and saw a the Estes rocket scream into the skies.

Well, in all honesty, to say I actually "saw" my rocket launch would be stretching it - I basically "heard" the thing ignite, and figured by the smoke and the surprised look on my grandma's face that it was airborne. So I looked up expecting to see it soaring, just like the color advertising and pictures on the box illustrated.

Unfortunately, by the time I got my head and eyes looking upward, my rocket was already floating down to earth, barely visible in the distance, about 1000 feet away, dropping like a dead bird right over Foothill Blvd. So I took off running.

By the time I arrived at the busy "touchdown zone" the cars on Foothill Blvd. had already completely destroyed my Estes Rocket. Had it not been for that tiny patch of cloth stuck on an oil patch in the road, (which I assumed was the "parachute"), I wouldn't have found it.

When traffic cleared I ran into the road, picked up what was left of the debris, and dejectedly walked home. My grandma was there to greet me, grinning broadly with that Viceroy cigarette hanging out of her stained teeth.

"You did it!" she shouted, while lighting up her 31st cigarette of the day. "That was great!"

"Grandma," I said sadly, "it was nothing like I imagined. I expected it to fly for a long time, and parachute back to me, like the picture on the box. Not just hear a 'whoosh' and have the whole thing over in 10 seconds!"

"Oh, that's the problem with expectations," she said, taking another drag on that Viceroy. "It's a fantasy. But the expectations get us to a place where reality takes over...and reality is always better than fantasy," she said.

"Why is that?" I asked her, sincerely, no longer focused on her stained teeth, but genuinely interested in this Waltonesque wisdom.

"Because, up until a few minutes ago," she said through smoke plumes, "you were just one of thousands of boys who only dreamed about shooting their very own rocket. But now, I bet you are the only boy in your school who can say they actually did shoot their very own rocket! And 25 years from now, you'll still remember this story, and the fact that it only lasted 10 seconds won't matter a whit."

Grandma Flo was right about everything. I was the only boy who could tell that story, and I milked it every chance I got...at least through Junior High. She was right about remembering it too. It's been more than 25 years and here I am telling the tale in detail as if it was yesterday.

I guess I still haven't learned how to control my great expectations though.

On the heals of the great report from my doctor and how good I was feeling after my 6-month evaluation, I had moved into fantasy world. I started imagining myself doing things again. I began to get into magazines that had bicycling and hiking themes, remarking to my wife that we should plan a trip to the Rockies.

After being enthralled by a TV commercial about a jazz club opening in town, I foolishly remarked that maybe I would "take her dancing this weekend." Even though I was only half-way through my treatment, I started thinking and acting like I was already finished, and completely well. I was an astronaut again, flying rockets in a dream world of my own making.

Then after about 4 days of this bliss, I woke up sicker than I had felt in a very long time. My glutes were killing me. My sciatic nerve was twitching. My back was so sore I couldn't bend over and touch my knees. My head felt swollen. I had brain-fog bigtime.

I had fantasized myself right into a huge flare, and it was my own fault.

I had forgotten that the "healing curve" on Ampligen, or any therapy for that matter, is more like the stock market - up a couple days, down the third. The ups and downs vary day by day, but over months, the curve or slope is slightly up.

As our systems adapt to the healing process and homeostatis, we take three steps forward, and then two back. Even today, in my 7th month of treatment, I still have good days and bad days. But the bad days are getting fewer, the good days are increasing, and my healing slope is going up.

But I forgot all of that 2 weeks ago, by not embracing the reality, and letting my dreams get ahead of wisdom.

Doctors and researchers report that most patients who battle Myalgic Encephalomyelitis are former A-type personalities, super-achievers who, before getting sick, dreamed great things, believed amazing things, and created awesome things. We are personality types who are wired to set unrealistic expectations, distant goals, and then astound everyone by trying to actually reach them.

Kim Phillips says that in 20 years working with CFS patients in neurophysiology therapy she has never met one who wasn't brilliant. Maybe you don't feel brilliant right now, but you are. Our minds and hearts are more than game...It's just that our bodies aren't cooperating right now.

I confess, I didn't feel brilliant on the couch this past weekend, barely able to stand up. I actually felt like an idiot. But my wife helped me snap out of it.

As I slowly limped into the kitchen, hearing a jazz favorite on the radio, holding back tears I said to her, "I really wanted to take you dancing this weekend, sweetheart."

"So dance with me now," she said, holding out her arms.

And that is exactly what we did. For about 10 glorious seconds, which was just about all the energy I could muster, I danced with my wife in our kitchen. No, it wasn't in a fancy jazz club. No the music wasn't live. And it wasn't anything like I had imagined in my fantasy.

But it was reality. And it was mine.

And just like my Grandma said, I have no doubt that 25 years from now I'll not only remember this dance, but I'll be telling this story in great detail - how I enjoyed embracing reality, by embracing my wife, and danced with her in our kitchen. And the fact that it lasted only 10 seconds won't matter a whit.

Tests Confirm It - Ampligen Works!

2010-07-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

I have waited 6 full months to be able to say this, and the day has finally arrived. So here it is: I know without a shadow of a doubt that Ampligen works. As I finish my 24th week of Ampligen, I can say with confidence that this amazing drug has performed "as advertised," and then some.

I know this not only because of the numerous physical and mental tests I take at the clinic that tracks my progress and improvement, but most importantly for me, I know Ampligen is working because of my own, secret test. Let me explain.

Over 6 months ago I arrived in this city after enduring a cold, cramped 16-hour overseas flight, barely able to walk from the plane to the baggage claim. My deterioration in health had gotten so bad I was barely able to get out of bed, so I came here as a last resort, leaving my home half a world away believing that this "experimental drug" called Ampligen was going to give me my life back.

Because of the flight, by the time we arrived at the hotel, I was really sick. Ears ringing, glutes and legs aching, all I could think about was getting into bed with the lights off. As we scuffled along to the elevators, we passed a baby grand piano in the lobby. With hope in her eyes, my wife asked me "do you want to play a few bars, sweetheart?" I shook my head no, and managed to mumble a weak, sad, "No. I really can't right now," and continued into the elevator. Had I had any surplus energy, I would have cried, seeing the look in my wife's eyes.

You see, until recently, no matter how sick I felt, my wife knew that I could always play the piano, and it would cheer me up. And cheer my wife up too. But over the past few months, even that joy was taken from me, as just sitting at a piano bench hurt my butt. And the act of thinking about chords hurt my head.

All of us who fight this disease have varying degrees of limitations as a result of our infirmity. By reason of the insidious nature of the viruses that activate and invade our brains and our central nervous systems, pleasures we used to enjoy are stolen. We're on the lower leg of Maslow's hierarchy of need, and survival occupies all of our energies, with the disease slowly but surely stripping away all the rest.

After a while, if you've been sick for years, you end up forgetting what "normal" life is. Gone are the days when we'd walk to the market. We no longer workout at the club, because exercise like that makes us pay big time the next day. We don't cook that favorite recipe anymore, because standing at a stove for that long is impossible. We don't play the piano anymore, because strangely, we can't remember the chords and our fingers have lost dexterity. Studies show the disease is actually eating up our brains, as evidenced by lesions.

That's what happened to me. The last time I tried to play one of my favorite Bossa Nova classics, a couple months before we came to the clinic, I couldn't get it together. I was in the wrong key, my mind was frazzled, I couldn't remember the chords. So I quit, frustrated. As I stepped away from the keyboard, I made a vow to myself. "If Ampligen works like they say it does, someday I'll be able to play this song again, without mistakes. THEN I'll know everything is going to be all right."

Because of the documentary film "The Buena Vista Social Club" I knew that music in the brain had a special "place" and that music memory, and finger memory could survive periods of inactivity.

In that awesome award-winning film by Wim Wenders, guitarist Ry Cooder tracks down an aging pianist in Havana named Ruben Gonzales, who was world-renowned before the revolution. But after Castro and communism took over, jazz clubs were closed, pianos were sold, and pianists like Ruben had to find work in other ways. In 1996 Cooder brings Gonzales to an old venue in Havana where there is still a working, almost in-tune upright piano. Because of Castro's prohibition and Gonzales' arthritis, it had been years since Ruben had played the ivories, and he looked tentative. But with Cooder's encouragment, Ruben sits down, places his weathered hands on the keys, and just starts playing like it was the 50's again. No mistakes. No hesitation. The voice over on the film goes on to say "Ruben played like that for hours, non-stop, as if nothing had changed."

It's been obvious to me over the past few weeks, that things have been improving greatly in my body. I walked 5 blocks to the market this afternoon. I am now back at the gym, doing exercise every day, and I'm able to stand at the stove and cook again.

Yesterday at the clinic they shared with me that all their tests showed I was making great improvement. From the results of my latest blood work, the physical exam, and numerous other tests, Gwen my nurse had no problem telling me that the Ampligen was working.

But I had one more secret test she didn't know about that was still pending.

Back at my apartment, turning on my vintage 1977 Fender Rhodes that I had shipped here on faith, I sat down on the hard stool, flicked on slight vibrato, closed my eyes, and felt the 9th chords by memory. Whether it was physical memory or muscle memory I can't be sure. All I know is, for the next 15 minutes, my aging fingers found enough of the right keys to musically transport me to Havana, and my soul warmed.

As I watched my own hands find chords and keys that just a few months before were evasive and confusing, I knew. My health was returning. The Ampligen was working.

Everything was going to be all right.

Read the Fine Print

2010-06-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

With my nose completely shut due to allergies, out of desperation the other day I took an OTC antihistamine. It was Italian day at lunch and I had grown weary of not tasting any of my food, so ignoring the instruction panel I ripped open the package where the headline read "Daytime Safe Formula" and took the tiny white tablet without even a glance at the label. Big mistake.

Exactly twenty minutes later, with my eyelids heavier than concrete and ravioli dripping from my chin, I lifted my weary, sleepy head out of my plate, and with all the effort I could muster, focused a magnifying glass on the small print on the side of the box and read to my dismay: "Warning: May cause drowsiness."

"Whaaat?" I said to myself, "this is supposed to be 'Daytime Safe'! Safe for what - outpatient surgery? I felt like I had been shot with an elephant dart full of thorazine, and in tiny 4-point helvetica type they whisper "may cause drowsiness?" Whatever that stuff was, in my view it would have been much more honest to reverse the whole thing, and label it a "Guaranteed to Put You To Sleep Medicine" with a smaller mention of "May also help control your allergies."

Regardless of the intent, the combination of the misleading package headline and the small print on the instructions ended up costing me a half day of cogent thinking, as I sleep-walked through the remainder of the day.

It could have been worse. Some of the newer drugs advertised on television really scare me. Have you seen any of these commercials? Thanks to recent regulations, when a drug manufacturer advertises on TV they can't hide the fine print like they do on packaging, because the FDA makes them actually say all the ugly stuff on TV.

For example, there's a new weight-loss drug by Glaxo Smith Kline promoted on TV called "Alli." On the shelf in the drug store, you might be drawn to it. The box is cute, with rainbow colored lettering, all very easy to read and "safe-looking." The TV commercial has skinny people frolicking in a field, wearing all white.

But on TV, they are mandated to say all the fine print that you wouldn't normally read, and it's pretty hilarious, if not frightening.

"Side effects to Alli include gas with oily spotting, loose stools, more frequent stools, and stools that are hard to control."

I don't know about you, but no matter how much weight I lose, I've always found it difficult to look svelte when the gas I pass leaves an oily spot. And I'm thinking the last thing I'm wearing when I take Alli is white pants.

I'm serious. This is not hyperbole. Here are a couple more:

Requip - a dopamine drug to counteract tremors: "side effects include an unusual urge to gamble and increased sexual urges and behaviours."

So it's either the shakes, or I turn into Hunter S. Thompson? That doesn't sound like a good deal to me.

Accutane - an acne medication: "side effects include crying spells, rectal bleeding, and bone fractures."

Now I may not remember all the details of my adolescence, but I'm pretty sure at age 14 that I probably would have learned to live with that pimple on my nose, if it meant walking my clean, acne-free face around high school with a broken leg in a cast. And yes, I admit it, macho-boy not withstanding, I would definitely be in tears, crying my eyes out, if I put the cream on my face and my butt started bleeding! Who wouldn't at age 14?

Reading the fine print is even more important for us fighting this disease, because research has shown that with our immune systems in overdrive, or out of whack, our bodies often react quicker, or more strongly, to published doses.

We also sometimes react to other people, or other circumstances, differently, or more strongly as well. That's because our Central Nervous System is under attack, and our "senses" are often attenuated.

Yesterday a woman at the gym had her personal aerobics CD blaring from her iPod, not using her ear buds as is the policy, so I was forced to listen to what for me was like nails on a chalkboard. It wasn't the oldies music so much that I minded, but the invasion into my brain of the super-animated Richard Simmon's voice, urging me to "Come on!" a dozen times per minute.

When I asked her to use her earphones "please!" she surprised me by saying "there's just two of us here, it's not that loud."

I couldn't believe it. My ears were ringing, and she thinks it's "not that loud?" Right then my wife arrived and I thought I'd get reinforcements. As she got on the treadmill I asked her if the noise bothered her, and to my surprise and dismay she said, "no, not really. It's not that loud."

Not that loud? To me it felt like Richard Simmons himself had taken up residency in my gym shorts, and had placed a megaphone an inch from my face screaming. At that moment I saw myself in the wall to wall mirror, with my eyes dilating, my brow furrowing, and the anger starting to rise.

These were the "side effects" of the disease I battle, the "fine print" about my health that most people didn't see or discover until something like the Richard Simmons episode ignited them, or revealed them.

Sometimes I can feel my heartbeat increase, and blood pressure rise. Other times I can feel the weight of a dark cloud. If I'm fortunate enough to be near a mirror, one sign that many of my doctors have confirmed is pupil dilation.

My wife has gotten used to these "side effects" and often snaps me out of them with focused little comments like "your eyes are dilating again" or "you look like every orifice in your body is about ready to burst."

That last one usually does the trick, because I can actually picture the scene. It always starts with me frolicking in a field, wearing all white.

How Not to Become Invisible

2010-06-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

It was worse than just being ignored.

The problem was this arrogant nurse was trying to make me feel invisible - As if I didn't exist - And that I just couldn't permit.

It happened at the clinic. This nurse was a freelance RN hired exclusively by another patient to do her infusions at my Doctor's office, and from day one this RN made it clear that she was above the rest of the staff and patients, using silence as the weapon of choice. Regardless of whether my greeting to her was "Good morning!" or a simple "How are you, today?", for four full weeks she did not respond or say a word, until yesterday. That's when she got my dander up.

As I was seated in the infusion recliner, right at the critical point when my Nurse Gwen was trying to enter my vein for infusion, the RN decided to stand next to me as if I wasn't even there, and speak over my head to Gwen with a negative comment.

"Took me four sticks the other day," she said, disparagingly; which is just about the last thing you want to hear when there is a needle poised over your hand. Of course, it both shocked and distracted Gwen, so as she paused, I decided to fill the space with my voice. My intention was to both rebuke the RN's rude behaviour, as well as illustrate the fact of my existence in the room to her. It was as if I was repeating Oliver North's lawyer, Brendan Sullivan's famous line, "Hey, what am I, a potted plant?"

Shocked and corrected, for the first time in a month she actually looked at me, saw the dilation of my retinas, mumbled an apology, and shrunk back to her corner saying something about her understanding my point.

For those of us who have physical challenges and sometimes obvious disabilities, it's easy for some people to devalue us...

to misinterpret our lack of stamina as a lack of stature;
to view our weakness in posture as a weakness in character;
or to actually take it as far as this RN, and instead of looking at us, or engaging with us, to look past us, over us, or even through us, as if we didn't even exist.

In the original "Invisible Man" series of films produced in the 1930's, the character played by Claude Rains visibly disappears after drinking some concoction, which at first seems advantageous, but over time proves problematic. After enjoying a few fleeting benefits of invisibility, most of the film is about Rains' struggles to be noticed and taken seriously, through his actions, deeds. or when a voice comes out of "nowhere."

Have you encountered people in your circle who patronize you? I call that an attempt to make me invisible, and whether it comes in the form of denial by loved ones, or just plain arrogant behaviour by people in public, I've learned that the only way to counteract invisibility in their minds is with strong actions that make me clearly visible to them - sometimes even including a very loud "voice out of nowhere."

Let me list a few of the ways I change things up from day to day, to make sure that despite my challenges and disabilities, I'm not invisible to those around me:

I Change the Tone and Timber of My Voice - Whenever I feel people aren't listening to me, I'll lower my voice to a whisper, or raise it above neutral. The former requires people to shut up and lean into me to hear, the latter snaps them out of their stupor. The main thing is, I speak at a volume differently than normal. Because I've lived all over the world, I'll also occasionally change my accent. I can speak Southern Californian English as well as the Queen's English, but often if I add my Spanish accent it gets the person's full attention.

I Change the Style and Substance of My Clothes. The fact that my body feels like a dirty washrag doesn't mean I have to dress like one. I've found that the more I dress "up," the less people look "down" at me. A TV producer once told me that the goal of every one of her celebrity clients was to "fill the room" when they entered it, and I've adopted that axiom. So even when going casual, I'll usually pick an embroidered, "True Religion" shirt like "Dog the Bounty Hunter" wears, rather than just a plain white one. It's hard to be invisible when you look like a walking billboard.

I Change Mode and Method of My Communications. If some people usually get emails from me, I'll change it up and call them by phone. If others only receive written letters from me, I'll send them an instant message. In public places with bored workers like Bank Tellers or Fast Food Servers, I'll place my order in a rhyme or a song, just to snap them out of it. By changing the wrapping of my words, I get better reception for my words.

I Change the Scent and Strength of My Cologne. This is right out of Schindler's List, and it is a really simple rule - if they can smell you, they won't forget you, and you are not invisible. I make sure I buy the highest strength cologne, usually brands from France or Germany, or the Bond line from London, which have more scented oil so that my fragrance lingers in the room after I leave.

I Change the Substance and Source of My Credentials. Because I have had over 20 jobs in my life, in a variety of industries, I can "be" a lot of different people depending on the need of the moment. I've shared earlier how on airline flights I sometimes mention that I am a pilot. Sometimes when I can't get service out of certain government functionaries I show them my press pass, because to this day I still am a reporter. One of the best credentials I use when I don't get good service is to mention that I am simply "a regular customer" who will be writing a letter to the President of the organization about my experience with you - and how this story is told "depends upon you, right now. So, let's start with the spelling of your last name." Even if they still treat me with contempt, I guarantee you I am no longer invisible to them. Ever again.

After my infusion that day, long after the rude RN and her only patient left the clinic, Gwen and I were the only two remaining, so I said to her, "Hope I didn't cause you any stress with my comments earlier."

Gwen replied, "After 4 weeks of not talking, I was in complete agreement with you. I was glad you said what you did."

"Yeah," I said, heading to the exit and elevator, "sometimes you just need to speak up, even if it is a "voice out of nowhere."

Gwen gave me one of her super-warm smiles, and I left the office happy.

As the elevator door opened, with my head down, I almost ran into a woman exiting, who I had seen in that building a few times before, but I didn't know her name. I was just about to say "Oh, excuse me," when she exclaimed, "Wow, nice shirt!"

"Thanks," I replied, "Nice of you to notice."

"Hard not to!" she said, sincerely, with a smile.

"Mission accomplished" I said to myself, and Claude Rains, if he was listening.

The Ampligen Supremacy

2010-05-31T13:25:00.000-07:00

My favorite line in the "Bourne" trilogy is given by The Professor. He appears briefly in the first installment, but it is in the second film, the Bourne Conspiracy, that Clive Owen utters the quintessential phrase of the movie. After dueling with fellow agent Jason Bourne in the countryside and lying mortally wounded from Bourne's shotgun blast, he looks at his bleeding body, and then up at Matt Damon's character and says, "Look at us. Look at what they make us give."

In that moment of humanity and pathos, when two field agents who have both been through the same trenches and heartaches connect in unspoken respect, both "The Professor" and Jason Bourne arrive at the same conclusion - that "they" have required too much of them. That the pain and trauma and incredible amount of time and life that "they" require just isn't worth the price.

At that moment, you can see on Matt Damon's face the realization - that regardless of the supposed "good" he and his fellow agent were doing...

the remedy was worse than the disease;
the medicine was worse than the infirmity.

I remember clearly when it dawned on me that the "remedies" I was using to fight M.E., were worse than the supposed "benefits" I was getting.

When all the medicines, foods, protein shakes, herbs, injections, pills and baths that "they" had recommended for my good with this hideous disease, was just too much - and that I had to find a better way. And it explains why I am writing the New Ampligen Diaries.

It was a typical morning. On the counter were all my vitamins, flasks, needles, herbs, tablets, supplements, and prescriptions, laid out for the day. There were the vials of B-12 and "Nexavir", the supposed Kutapressin replacement. There were my Doctor-prescribed medicines, my natural health foods, and a ton of vitamins and supplements. My body ached, so as was normal for my morning routine, while waiting for my magnesium salt infused hot bath, I asked my wife to mix up my whey protein drink in that special little blender. For years I had read that this whey protein contained the glutathione that my body lacked, and since "they" recommended it so strongly, I dutifully and habitually drank the mixture twice a day.

I hated that drink, not only because it tasted like chalk, but also because it wasn't water soluble. You had to dump these envelopes of white powder into this special mixer to blend it, or else you ended up with clumps of goo that would stick to your glass and turn to concrete within minutes. I sacrificed a lot of cups to that whey powder over the years. Plus you invariably ended up with white powder everywhere, on the sink, on your hands, in your hair - all for the sake of this "miracle" drug.

My wife was better at it than I was, so while waiting for her to carefully open the packets and gently mix the concoction that "they" insisted I drink, I opened my laptop and went to my news feeds about M.E and CFS treatments. What I saw rocked my world, and changed forever how I would view "them," and how I would survive with this disease from then on.

"Cheney Advises Against Whey Protein and Glutathione" rang the headline, louder than a shotgun blast in my ears.

"Whaaaat?" I screamed out loud. "After 15 years of promotion, dozens of published articles, a feature position on "Pro Health" and other vitamin retailers that cater to us, NOW whey protein is bad for me?"

I couldn't believe it. The money and time I'd invested in getting whey protein delivered to me, (outside the USA) was eclipsed only by the hundreds of hours spent trying to get that confounded blender to work with that hellish powder.

As if on cue, my wife came around the corner with my little elixir in hand, white whey powder dancing from her eyebrows, her nose, and covering her fingers.She looked like Al Pacino in the closing scene of Scarface.

"Guess what?" I said sarcastically to my wife, "We've been spending thousands of dollars each year apparently poisoning me with whey protein."

"Why?" she asked me sincerely.

"Because," I answered, "they told us to."

Looking at my precious wife covered in whey, that fricking little battery operated blender, superimposed over the headline seemingly mocking me on my computer screen, something came over me, and I had my "Bourne" moment.

Taking the mixture from her cute little hands, I actually repeated the words out loud: "Look at what they make us give," I said.

Today my wife and I say that line often, resonant with the knowledge that it means much more to us than dialogue from a spy thriller. It recalls to us the moment when we stopped believing in all the remedies that "they" speculated would work. It signals the time when I decided to get serious about my recovery, and put everything I had into it, for survival. Though not as dramatic as a Bourne thriller, it was every bit as serious.

For out of that "whey protein" fiasco and subsequent "they don't always know what they're talking about" revelation came a new-found respect for research, and a renewed desire to do whatever it took to get well, regardless of what "they" said.

Which is the reason that today, I have moved 10,000 kilometers across an ocean to receive the drug "Ampligen" and have committed to a full year of treatment under one of the few doctors in the world who has it, in order to get well.

I came after doing exhaustive research. I looked at everything that was out there, from Valtrex and/or Valcyte therapy, to Vistide, and other antivirals, to even stem-cell therapy and antibiotic "cocktails", and guess what I found? The drug with the most research and the most potential success turns out to be the much maligned, often controversial, immune modulator called Ampligen. I found that there were over 20 years of Journal published research reports, way more than any other therapy today, that gave me the overall impression that, this drug actually could "fix"or modulate my immune system to make me better.

I do not have a financial interest in Ampligen or Hemispherx. I am not lobbying for Hemispherx or working "against" any other drug, protocol or therapy. But so far, Ampligen is proving to work in my body as advertised, and there is lots of research to back that up. For example, from just a few of the hundreds of published studies:

Ampligen Activates NK Natural Killer Cells and Interferon Enzyme

Ampligen Protects Mice Against Coxsackie B3 Virus

Ampligen Inhibits HHV-6 Herpes Virus

Ampligen Inhibits Viral Replication of Hepatitis Virus

CFS Patients Show Long Term Improvement With Ampligen

Ampligen May Provide Long Term Immunity Against Cancer

There are literally hundreds of other references and published studies that cover the last 20+ years of Ampligen research, that to me added up to the best option for my time, money and hope. To see these just use and search Google Scholar for Ampligen. Then compare what you find with any other remedy currently in vogue today, and tell me, does the protocol you are following have this much research behind it? Is the remedy actually helping you, or is it another "whey protein" drink?

Recently there was a really interesting study published by a Doctor I really admire regarding his decades long statistical analysis of patients using long-term antibiotic therapy. I'm thankful for this study, and the new insights it brings to our treatment options. Yet I have to admit, when I read that this research portends $1000/month worth of antibiotics, plus liver tests monthly, for a period of 4-11 years, I have to stop and ask myself "The Professor's" implied question. Is the remedy worth it?

"Look what they make us give." 4 years and $50,000 minimum? To maybe get better?

No. Not for me. I'm putting my money on Ampligen. 1 year and less than $25,000.

With the added bonus of no ridiculous powder in a battery operated mixer.

Misconceptions about maids

2010-05-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

Someone asked many questions in his comment in this page:

30% of maids sent home within 3 months

I realized that there are many misconceptions about maids in Singapore. I have posted the questions in blue, and the bold text is my answer.

1.Why the sg government only allows FDW's from certain countries? Why no FDW's allowed from places like China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia?
Is this a form of Racism here?

Not racism. The main reason is that women fear that pretty Chinese girls will seduce the husbands.

MOM states that the FDW must be from an approved source country. These countries include Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand.

(Source: Requirements)

Read this ST forum thread to find out about other people's views :

Why not China Maids ?

2. Why FDW's are not covered under the Employment Act? So are they considered as sub-human? Even construction workers and cleaners are covered under this Act.
The maids are not sub-human. In fact, they are super precious humans. There are many laws to protect the maids, but no laws to protect the employers.
For example, we have to sign an agreement (with Indonesian Embassy) that we must not let a maid hang clothes outside the windows of a high rise apartments. If the maid cannot do it, that means the employer has to do it. The employer's life is not as precious as the maid. (Note that 85% of Singaporeans live in high rise apartments. HDB never give us enough space to hang laundry inside.)

3. So the decision to grant FDW's a day-off is up to the employer. But how many people here actually give your maid a day-off? Just imagine yourself in their FDW's shoes? It is like a form of slavery. Even during my NS days, I couldn't wait to get out of camp on those precious weekends. It was freedom.
Please look up the dictionary on the definition of slavery. Many people like you do not understand what slavery means and use the word in the wrong context.
When a maid comes to Singapore to work, she is paid a salary that is very high compared to what she will get if she works in her home country. Read this page :

Comparison of maid's salary

That means she is able to provide a very comfortable life for her family at home. I also see many maids carrying handphones and talking non-stop, that means they have the money to spend.
There are many employers who give off days. My maid has one off day every alternate Sunday.
Every maid is given the freedom to choose whether she wants a job with off days or not. No one forced her to take up a job with no off days. The maid can always refuse to take a job with no off days. Believe me, many maids now refuse to work if she has no off day.

4. Why must one have to pay a 'loan' to get a maid?? If you were to get a job in an overseas country, do you need to pay a 'loan' to any agency?
Please do not compare the maid's work to the work of a highly skilled professional. The maid is unskilled. Many maids do not know how to cook, do not how to take care of babies, and do not even how to clean properly. All other foreign workers like construction workers and even service staff from China must to pay a loan to come here.

Also note that the almost $3000 loan is paid to the maid agency, NOT the employer. You should go and question the maid agencies why they collect so much money from the maid.

The maid is very fortunate, because their loan is fully paid by the employer. They can decide to go home after a few days, and their employer must suffer the loss of about $3000 !

5. All of us here in sg seem to be overly dependent of maids. But has anybody here ever wondered how families in places like Australia, New Zealand, UK, US etc cope without maids? Getting a maid in these countries is next to impossible and only for the very rich. So how do those double income families cope? Btw many people over there live in much bigger houses then our tiny 'pigeon holes in the sky' over here in singapore. So how do they clean their houses? Take care of their kids?
When you start to have a family and babies, you will understand our difficulty.

I have cousins in USA. One cousin has double degrees from Harvard and Cambridge. She has to stay at home for 7 years to look after her 2 kids. When she went back to work last year, she had to employ a nanny for USD 2000 a month. If you were a woman, are you willing to sacrifice your career ? Are you able to find a wife who is highly educated but willing to stay home to take care of the kids ?

I will let other westerners educate you about how they live.

Our societies are different. Read what the director of Aware wrote :

Singapore still far behind in true gender equality: Aware

In Singapore, women have to bear the bulk of the childcare burden. There are many Singaporean mothers who managed to live without maids. Read this thread in the Kiasu Parents forum :

All about life without maids

Also note that maids are not only needed in families that have babies or young children. Many maids are needed to take care of the elderly who are too old to walk or feed themselves. My father passed away last year, and I was very grateful that my maid took good care of him, allowing him to be with our family until the last days of his life.

6. Many FDW's are poor people who come to singapore to find work and build a better life. But they are not trained and prepared for life as a FDW in sg. Employers in sg have too high expectations and most do not know how to treat they maids appropiately. End of the day, the blame is on the maid. But how many employers here are 'trained' to handle a worker like a FDW, with their low and underprivilege socio-economic background?
We pay maid agencies a lot of money to train them ! The agency fee ($600 to $800) and maid loan of almost $3000 are supposed to get us a maid who is well trained in their "training center" ! We already came out with so much money, why should we be responsible for training them ? Maid agencies are supposed to the experts in training maids. But most of the time we still get maids who cannot do the job.

But then many employers have put in a lot of hard work to train maids who have no experience working in Singapore before. I want to thank my maid's previous employer for training her to be such a wonderful maid.

If all FDWs are poor people who want to work for a better life, why don't they want to work hard ? There are many maids who asked to be sent home after working for only a few weeks, or even days, they came to Singapore for a free and easy holiday. Note that they do not have to pay any money to come to Singapore, employers pay for everything.

Also note that the median salary in Singapore is only about SGD 5000. After CPF deduction(20%), cost of a maid (about SGD 700), cost of a car (about SGD 1000), paying for the mortgage loan, paying for kids' pre-school and enrichment (can cost more than $1000 a child) etc, how much money is left ? Most employers are not rich, and most of us cannot afford to do charity work, that is, paying for a maid who does not know how to work !

Singapore still far behind in true gender equality: Aware

2010-05-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

The following is the reason why we need maids in Singapore. If we don't have maids, then mothers are the ones who suffer, because most men do not help out with childcare.

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_528911.html

May 20, 2010

Singapore still far behind in true gender equality: Aware

WE WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with Professor Hans Rosling's view last Wednesday ('Want more babies? Fathers, please step up') that Singapore has not seen a reversal in the decline of fertility rates because Singaporean fathers are not rising to the task of child rearing, and state support for equal parenting roles is not adequate.

In our 2004 report (Beyond Babies: National Duty Or Personal Choice), we stated that there is a direct correlation between total fertility rates and gender equity.

Many people think that Singaporean women have achieved gender equality. However, compared with countries such as Australia, Sweden, Britain and the United States where the total fertility rate is now increasing, we have a long way to go.

In the last 30 years, women have entered the workplace in droves. More girls graduate from our universities than boys. However, these changes are asymmetrical. Men have not moved into the domestic sphere at the same rate.

This asymmetry makes child rearing much less attractive for women. The woman who derives satisfaction from her work will not be keen to have any, or many, children if she has to bear the bulk of the childcare burden. In the meantime, her husband does not lose sleep about balancing work and family life.

Whose problem is this and what can be done? The State, the market and the individual all play important roles in the determination of fertility decisions.

Here are some considerations:

What is the message and effect when the State mandates four months' paid maternity leave, but not a day of paternity leave? Are we sending the message that fertility is solely a woman's responsibility?

Adequate support structures for families and availability of flexiwork arrangements are key factors in countries which have seen positive fertility trends. In Singapore, however, part- time work amounts to a minuscule 10 per cent of employment. Why is this?

Are family-friendly arrangements in workplaces equally available to male employees, or do employers treat a male employee's request to take time off to care for his sick child less favourably?

How can we support more active fathering? The 'Dads for Life' national campaign is a commendable initiative of the National Family Council and a step in the right direction.

Traditional gender roles not only deprive men of the opportunity to play an active role in their children's lives but also create an unbalanced environment where women are discouraged from having more children.

Corinna Lim (Ms)

Executive Director, Aware

Simple English Indo Dictionary

2010-05-23T01:54:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to a wonderful employer who sent me this copy of Simple English Indonesian Dictionary.

Please click the following link to download the printable copy :

Simple English Indo Dictionary

Disclaimer : I will not be responsible for any inaccuracies in this dictionary.

Essential Words for Indon FDW

2010-05-18T23:01:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to an employer who sent me this using list of words.

Click the following link for a printable copy :

Essential words for Indon FDW

I Swear, It's Nothing Personal!

2010-05-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

"My mild-mannered, sweet, school-teacher wife just lit into me with some language that would make a sailor blush!" R.S. said, shaking his head in dismay. He was referring to his wife Leona, a fellow patient here at the clinic getting Ampligen, and he was beside himself, still stinging from the string of expletives she had just dispatched his way.

I had met R.S. briefly a few weeks prior, when he and Leona had first arrived at the clinic to start her on the Ampligen protocol. She was a petite, lovely woman, and obviously sick, but she still made an effort to be cordial. Looking up at the giant of a man with a straw hat and an unlit cigar hanging from his mouth, Leona smiled at him and introduced me. "This is my husband, Robert" she said, "but most people just call him R.S. That's short for "rock solid" because that's what he is in my life." I could tell how much she loved him, and it was clear that he idolized her.

I remember thinking to myself, "I wonder if he's ready for what's coming."

"Listen, R.S." I said, "if you have any questions about this protocol, or the side effects, feel free to call me. My wife could give you some tips as well," I said, handing him my card and phone number. "Because there are side-effects!"

It was about three weeks later, to the day, that R.S. took me up on my offer, and connected with me by phone. "Man, I need some help or advice or something." R.S. said. "This woman is pushing me to the edge of my rope. I don't know if I can take it much more!"

"What's going on, R.S.?" I inquired.

"I've been married to Leona for over 2 decades" he said, "and she's never said more than three cross words to me in her life. But ever since she started this Ampligen treatment, she's been cursing me like a drunken sailor. I mean, she's hit me with some profanities that you wouldn't hear even on a construction site. And I've worked in construction, so I know. I mean, it's like she's a different person! Would you believe last night, after very gently and quietly going out to the patio, Leona actually screamed at me to "stop slamming that "f----ing" door!?"

"Yes, I can believe it, R.S." I said, "for two reasons. First, in order to start Ampligen, Leona had to go "off" all her other drugs - medicines and antivirals that were getting her through. Second, the Ampligen she's receiving now is finding and attacking the disease, and it is stirring things up everywhere in Leona's body, including her brain, and that includes her nervous system, and the parts of her brain that controls and filters speech."

"You mean I've traveled over 1000 miles," R.S. continued, " to come to a clinic to get my wife better, and the immediate result of this "miracle drug" is that I get to hear what a 'son of a bitch' I am by my so-called sweet, loving wife every night?"

"Well," I replied cautiously, "at least for a little while, R.S. But don't take it personally!"

I went on. "In reality, what's happening to your wife happens to most of us who start this immunomodulating drug called Ampligen, or to anyone who has had this virus in their systems for a while and starts treating it. The same thing happened to me - and until my wife understood the pathology, she was as perplexed by my swearing as you are about Leona's. In fact, I continued, "my wife could tell you about the night I screamed at her to "kindly stop banging the f....ing door!"

What I then shared with R.S. helped him to understand the situation a lot better, so he could understand what Leona was going through a lot more. Thankfully, some other patients and doctors had shared this with me, and I ended up writing it as a "letter" to loved ones so that they too could understand that we are not just "cursing up a blue streak" because we lack self-control. Here's what I wrote:

Dear loved one,

Perhaps you have heard things come out of my mouth that sound harsh to you. Perhaps my attitude has sounded impatient, or my requests have sounded demanding. You may have even been one those close to me who has heard me use profanity or off-color words that normally even I would blush at.

Please understand, I have not gone over to the "dark side." I am battling a neurological disease which has infected or invaded my cerebral spinal fluid. This not only causes me great discomfort, it also causes great changes in my mental circuitry. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis by definition in part means "pain and swelling in the brain lining," and the viruses that it has stirred up mess with parts of my brain in a significant way, not the least of which is my speech center.

Yes, I have a problem with my mouth right now...but it's because I have a problem in my brain. According to the Canadian Case Definition Guide of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, MRI studies confirm that we patients use more areas of the brain to process auditory activities, which means small noises often seem extremely loud to us, and small irritants can feel extremely, well, irritating. What's more, in that process we often can suffer cognitive fatigue, which then affects our verbal processing.

Speech comes from the left brain normally, but when fatigued or worn out, our brains can switch to the right hemisphere, triggering our Amygdala, which is the key to emotions. This then causes our heart to speed up, our eyes to dilate, and other survival mechanisms to kick in. When our hearts accelerate, our sympathetic nervous system kicks in, releasing adrenaline or epinephrine into our bloodstreams. In short, sometimes our bodies put us in "fight flight" mode, ready for war, prepared to act like a warrior.

And because we lack the cognitive energy to speak at those times from our left-brain, we shift to right brain verbal communication, which of course, sounds a lot more like a soldier or a football player, than a school teacher.

You may have heard of this happening to women in labor, where out of the blue they will curse during the most painful, exhaustive moments of giving birth. No husband in those moments takes those words seriously, or personally - so I would ask that in a similar fashion, you not take mine seriously, or personally either.

I am, in a very real sense, in labor here. I am in labor everyday to try beat back the sickness, to beat the viruses and diseases that have invaded my body, without losing my sanity or my hope. If on occasion, the cascading of pain symptoms or the natural defense mechanisms of my brain and central nervous system push me into a warrior mode, and you see my eyes dilate, or hear invectives come from my mouth that seem over the top, please understand, I am really not that upset with you. Inside my head though, it is very painful, and very noisy.

So please, don't take this personally.

And on your way out, please, just be sure you "don't slam that @#$#%&& door!"

With love and appreciation,

Kelvin

Maids paying for damaged items

2010-05-18T02:37:00.000-07:00

I am sure that many employers have encountered careless maids who keep damaging items in the house. The question is, can an employer make the maid pay for items that she damaged ?

One employer posted in the Singaporemotherhood forum that she has checked with MOM. MOM does not regulate matters such as making maids pay for items that they damaged. Employers can write contracts to specify terms of employment to avoid any misunderstanding. That means an employer can state in the contract that the maid must pay for any item that she damages.

However, do note that we cannot make the maid pay for the following. Employers must not include these in the contract.
1. air ticket back to her home country
2. cost of renewing work permit
3. cost of renewing passport (This rule is set by the Indonesian Embassy. It costs only about $40, please read : Renewing the maid's work permit and passport)

I do advise employers to keep one eye close if the maid only breaks things once in a while. If the maid is very careless and keeps breaking things, then it makes sense to make her pay for the things that she damaged, so that she can learn to be more careful. We are already paying the maid our hard earned money to work for us, it is unfair for us to pay for everything that she breaks due to carelessness.

Grading Ampligen - A Mid Term Report Card

2010-05-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

I never liked report cards as a student, but since today marks the completion of 14 weeks on Ampligen, signifying that I've just passed the quarter-mile mark, I thought I'd give you an update on my progress, by way of some mid-term grades. After having 28 infusions of this amazing "experimental" drug, here are the things that have and have not improved to date. Grades are based on the typical American system, with A being best, and D's and F's being worst.

Things that have improved on Ampligen:

Appetite - A+ This was the very first thing I noticed that Ampligen affected, from the very first day on the very first drip. My appetite returned while sitting in the clinic with the first Ampligen infusion in my arm, and I remember commenting to Nurse Gwen about it. When I arrive here I weighed barely 170 pounds - not enough for my 6'1" frame - and today I am sporting a pot belly at 199 pounds. That's almost 30 pounds gained in 3 months, and my new challenge is figuring out how to stop gaining! But I feel better with this weight back on, and most tell me I look better too.

Sleep A+ - The second most noticeable benefit of Ampligen was both the length and quality of my sleep. I remember the first night after my first "drip" having vivid dreams. I began writing them down, so intense and profound they seemed to me, but after a few weeks I just sat back in my sleep, and enjoyed the show. Today I always sleep at least 8 hours per night, and always have multiple dream sets.

Brainwaves B+ - Early in my treatment I went to a pretty well known Doctor who specialized in Quantitative EEG and neurofeedback therapy, who has had a lot of M.E. patients, and got a scan of my brainwaves. After seeing the color images of my brain activity on her screen, I asked her "what does that show you?" She said, "If you took this image to any hospital emergency room, and showed it to any random resident working that day, they would say to you "So was this patient in a car accident, or hit with a bat? Because there is serious brain trauma here." Since then, every day after my Ampligen treatment I've gone immediately to this Doctor's office, and had neurofeedback. Since then my Theta waves, which were off the chart, and looked much like someone with ADD or ADHD, have come down within "normal" range. I attribute that both to the Ampligen, and the neurofeedback therapy. Experientially, my short-term memory has improved, and my business associates have told me that I'm "much sharper" in my decision making and management. Even though I still don't go into the office, and do my job on the phone and the Internet, they've noticed a difference.

Headaches B+ - In short, my headaches have almost completely disappeared since starting on Ampligen. My ears still ring occasionally, but the pain has not reared its ugly head in a long time.

Digestion B+ - If you read some of my earlier posts, you know that I went from diarrhea, to constipation early in my Ampligen treatment. The pendulum has swung back to the middle, and suffice to say everything is now normal and regular. I still watch what I eat, avoid gluten, sugar, and the usual suspects, but apart from those restrictions, the machinery functions pretty much everyday like clockwork.

Things still waiting to be improved on Ampligen:

Low Energy - D- When I arrived here I could hardly walk from the airport gate to the baggage carousel at the airport. Although I might be a little better than that, today I am still limited by low energy levels. More than 7 minutes walking and I'll be pooped, and pay for it the next day. In our animated church we stand a lot, and sometimes I just can't do it for more than 5 minutes. Staying "horizontal" is still necessary for me, most of the day.

Limited Exercise D+ - I have not been able to increase my exercise level at all since being on Ampligen. I have hope that this will change soon, because other patients tell me after month 6 the energy level starts to pop. But as of today, apart from like 10 minutes of stretches each day, I'm unable to do much.

Concentration Difficulty D - Although I have seen slight improvement in this area, I have to confess that mental concentration is still a problem. To write this blog for example takes me multiple sittings, and big-time discipline, because my mind wants to bail about every 5 minutes. This is getting better, but there is still a long way to go.

Muscle Pain D - Although the flu-like side effects of Ampligen have, after 3 months, now completely dissipated, I still awaken every morning with stiff, sore leg and back muscles. I still am fighting pain and soreness all the time, all day long. Sometimes the locations change, but every day something muscular is hurting.

It is these four problem areas that combine to still make it difficult for me to work for any long periods, or take my wife out to dinner, or just dance with her in the living room. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the improvements I've noted in the section of "good grades" above. But until Ampligen can fix these "low grade" areas, I won't be satisfied.

Oh yes, one more thing, that my wife has noticed. My mouth has gotten a lot better. Of all the tests and measurments as to how I feel and how I'm doing on Ampligen, this one might be the best diagnostic of all. I give myself a B on this.

I very rarely use the "f" word as an adjective any more! Thank God!

How to Answer "What's Wrong With You?"

2010-05-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

We've all heard the question in one form or another.

It usually comes at a time when you look better than usual, or feel worse than usual. But either way, it makes you feel the same as usual.

"What exactly is wrong with you?" they ask, innocently...not knowing that their "casual" remark has ignited every synapse in your brain and tensed every muscle in your body into an emergency-level "fight/flight" response.

How should I answer that? Because the disease we battle has not received the "press" or publicity of other better known infirmities, and is not as intuitively obvious as having one leg missing, the answer we give is not all that easy to come up with, and often provokes some strange responses.

The most notable example of this happened to me on a flight from Miami, USA, after arriving from South America. Through mileage I was blessed to be upgraded to Business Class, but even before I could enjoy the comforts of warm roasted nuts and the hot towel, I was uncomfortable. A large man in a Panama hat seated directly behind me began coughing and wheezing so violently I actually felt spray from his mouth hit my arm. I turned around to see if it was serious, just in time to get hit with another atomized burst of germs right in my face. He didn't even attempt to cover his cough, and seemed perfectly content baptizing all six of us in this tiny cabin with his infection.

Knowing how sensitive my immune system was to these kinds of airborne bacteria, and not wanting to get yet another cold or virus, especially one I was convinced came from Panama, I rang the attendant button. When the "flight attendant" came by, I said in a whisper, "Could you please ask the gentleman behind me to move to another seat? There are a bunch open in the back."

To my surprise, she said nothing, made a dismissing face, shook her head, and started to move on to deliver more hot towels to the other Business Class passengers. But because I was a pilot, and knew commercial aviation rules and regs, I had more to say. Unfortunately, at that moment, the short-term memory, brain-fog thing that hits us at the most inopportune times came over me, and I forgot what to call her in English. Coming up with the closest alternative, I now almost shouted down the aisle, "Waitress!"

I discovered immediately that, at least in the USA, "flight attendants" do not like to be called "waitresses." Spinning around like I had just cursed her, she said loud enough for everyone on the plane to hear, "What did you just call me, sir?"

As I started to explain that I meant no offense, that it was just a mix up in terminology, she interrupted me with the question. The question that we are not loathe to answer, but the question that usually takes more than a few seconds to explain. And there it was.

"What exactly is wrong with you?" she spat, halfway using it as a club to beat me senseless, but also seriously waiting for an answer,

With her hovering over me like a school-marm, I muttered something about having a complex disease, included some key facts about my immune system, mentioned the word "virus" I think, and then heard myself end with "but it's not contagious!"

Whatever I said, it evoked exactly the opposite reaction that I had hoped, and for the rest of the flight, I was actually "shrouded" by her and her staff.

Shrouding is a term that was made famous in the movie "The Paper Chase" starring Timothy Bottoms and John Houseman, referring to law school students who were so inept in the professor's mind, that the professor ignored the student for the entire semester, basically acting like the student didn't even exist. Playing a shrouded student, Timothy Bottoms actually sat in class with a bag over his head.

I guess because of my weird answer, and the use of the term "waitress", for the next 2 hours, I was shrouded on that flight. No "flight attendant" looked at me. I was not offered a beverage. I received no warm nuts. And Mr. Panama hat coughed and sprayed all the way from Miami to our destination.

I learned through that ordeal that I had better come up with a cohesive, cogent, informative answer to the question, so that the next time someone asks me "What is wrong with you?" I would be prepared.

Over time, I've cataloged a number of concise ways to answer the question, depending on the questioner, my mood, and the need at the moment, and offer a few for you here.

The Scientific Answer:

I have a disease known in most parts of the world as myalgic encephalomyelitis. That's a lot of syllables but it describes this infirmity well:

Myalgic- by definition means muscle pains;

Encephalo- in latin means in the head, or brain;

Myel - refers to the myelin and means spinal cord;

Itis - means inflammation or imflamed.

So when you put it all together it means I have a disease that resides in my brain and spinal fluid, inflaming them, and giving me great pain. It also means that it's quite amazing that I could tell you this definition without lying down!

The Allegorical Answer:

Have you ever had a bad case of the flu? Did you ever drink one too many Margaritas? Do you like the TV Game Show "Jeopardy?" Well, imagine that you have a disease that makes you feel like you have the worst flu-bug of your life, with all the concomitant chills, fevers, and aches, with a tequila hangover on top of it, and Montezuma's revenge thrown in. Now imagine that when you try to get up to go to the bathroom, some college pranksters covered your bed in thick molasses, and you can't move your arms or legs. To make this torture even worse, while you are "stuck" there, immobile, your brain is giving you answers to questions no one has asked. Well, I have a disease that is like that for me all the time. And oh by the way, "What does Myalgic Encephalomyelitis feel like, for 500, Alex?"

The Symptomatic Answer:

I have a disease that makes me extremely tired all the time, but prevents me from getting more than 2-3 hours of sleep at night. It is a disease that makes me sweat in the winter, and have chills in the summer; one that often has my head red-hot and feverish, while my feet are stark white and ice-cold. It is an infirmity that makes my immune system and brain run on overdrive, but often renders me unable to find the right words, or remember your name. In fact, I often forget what I was saying in mid-sentence, and why I was saying it. Now what was that question that you just asked me again?

I have other formulated answers that I often use, but you get the idea. The point is to have at least one...well-rehearsed, on the tip of your tongue...because you never know from who or where the question will next come.

And if brain-fog hits, or the short-term memory problem kicks in, or you are just frankly tired of answering the question, there's always the last resort. You just put a grocery bag over your head, and act like you're not even there.

My Allergic Cascade

2010-04-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

I never heard the phrase "allergic cascade" until 10 days ago, when I woke up with a nose so swollen with mucous that I literally could not blow it out. Seeing my distorted face in the bathroom mirror, all I could think of was that classic scene in the movie "Hitch" where Will Smith's head reacts to his shellfish allergy by exploding to twice its normal size, and he starts guzzling antihistamines.

Allergy season, huh? They warned me about this little side-benefit of living here on the East Coast of the USA, but like every other "little" physical challenge we face, this seemingly "minor" irritant became a huge problem for me, because of the immune system issues it portended.

It started pretty innocently - the meteorologist on TV the night before said that "pollen levels will be the highest on record in more than 25 years, " but since I had never been bothered by Springtime allergies in the past, I didn't pay much attention.

I should have.

"Normal" average people all over this town were sneezing and stuffy, complaining of the extreme allergic reaction to the visible pollen in the air. But as you well know, we are not "normal" or average. We have immune systems that are already ramped up, and I have the additional issue of having an immunomodulating drug called Ampligen basically stirring things up like a hornet's nest on top of it all.

I knew I was in trouble when I decided to carry a roll of toilet paper around with me all day- so continuous and heavy was the flow of snot literally pouring out of my nose. Not only did I have to fight the usual Ampligen provoked flu-like symptoms of headache, sore back, and muscle-aches, now I was wrestling with the added kicker of a completely closed nasal cavity and swollen sinus passages. I not only couldn't speak intelligently, I couldn't hear myself speak unintelligently, and I couldn't figure out how to eat and breath at the same time.

If you want to simulate what I was feeling, put your head completely underwater during your next bath, use your fingers to close your nose,and then try to eat a chicken leg. Then try talking.

But that wasn't the worst part. Blocked sinuses in turn affected my sleep, because as my mother would tell you, I have never learned how to breath through my mouth when sleeping. With my nose completely plugged up, I had to literally "prop" my mouth open with the edge of the pillow, to try to get small amounts of sleep in. I can now tell you 8 different ways to make a "jaw wedge" out of linen that would rival any tool in a dental office.

But of course those breathing solutions were short lived, because after a few minutes, as I'd enter REM, my mouth would shut by habit, and I'd jolt awake gasping for air. My wife told me the first night she stopped counting after being entertained by this drama a dozen times the first hour, and after me telling her to "stop waking me up!" Which, with my snot problem, sounded to her something like "Shlop shwakige mhee huah!"

Relief started to come, albeit on a very temporary basis, when a friend recommended a nasal spray called "4-way", which is basically just a pseudo-epinepherine mist that shrinks the nasal passages for about an hour. Using that life-saving spray, (which by the way does not have adrenaline properties), I was able to take cat naps during the night, and talk on the phone occasionally. Without it, I sounded like Elmer Fudd, and no one ever truly believed it was me on the phone.

The only good thing out of having my nose completely plugged up was, without a sense of smell, I didn't enjoy eating at all, so my pot-belly began to shrink.

Studies show that allergies are more common in people fighting fibromyalgia and CFS or M.E. Some have even gone so far as to say that food or environmental allergies can predict CFS/M.E. The fact of the matter is, whether it is a virus, or a mold spore, or pollen that enters our systems, our body's reaction is essentially the same - to send "troops" to oppose the invader. The immune system immediately reacts to whatever the invader by producing several types of cytokines, including interferon alpha and tumor necrosis factor.

Cytokines are small proteins that can either step-up or step-down the immune response, but they also cause things like inflammation of tissue, tiredness and body aches. If the allergic response goes on long enough, or is in an environment of TH2 predominance as opposed to TH1 (most CFS/M.E. patients are in a chronic state of TH2 shift) the situation becomes an "Allergic Cascade."

Using the term "cascade" for what I went through makes it sound like a pleasant float trip or an enjoyable white-water ride. Trust me, this was no fun. I'd prefer to call what I experienced an "Allergic Drowning," because until today, I was fighting for air and breath every moment.

Today, after my Ampligen infusion, (which was #26) and a squirt of nasal spray, I am finally breathing normally through my nose. I no longer look like Will Smith. I no longer sound like Elmer Fudd. And with my sense of taste returning, my belly is starting to return to its new found pot-belly shape!

Comparison of Maid's Salary with other countries

2010-04-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

I have read comments that the salary of foreign maids in Singapore is "peanuts".

It really does not make sense to compare our maids' salary with maids working in Europe or the USA. This is because the salaries that the employers earn are different. For example, the starting pay of a teacher in Singapore is only about SGD 2000 a month, after deducting CPF (20%). (Source : MOE Salary)

It is only logical to compare with the salary that the maid will earn, if she works in her home country. Also note that many maids who come to Singapore to work do not have any skills, they don't even know how to cook and clean properly.

So I did some research to find out the salaries that maids are earning in Indonesia and Philippines. I also included Malaysia and China for your information.

Singapore
Maid Salary - SGD 350 and above
Maid Levy - SGD 170 (only for families with young kids or elderly) / SGD 265(normal)
Food and groceries for the maid - SGD 100+
Total cost is over SGD 600.

Indonesia
Maid : 1358000 IDR (SGD 208) monthly
Nanny : 1609000 IDR (SGD 247) monthly
Source : http://www.expat.or.id/info/2008-AWA-HouseholdStaffSalarySurvey.pdf

Philippines
Maid : 3000 to 5000 pesos (SGD 93 to SGD 155) monthly
Source : http://www.philippinesinsider.com/expat-life/finding-the-right-maid/

Malaysia
Indonesian maids RM 360 (SGD 155) monthly
Filipino maids RM 760 (SGD 328) monthly
Source : http://www.malaysia.alloexpat.com/malaysia_information/maids_in_malaysia.php

China
Maid with no experience - 300 RMB (SGD 61)
Maid with experience - 800 RMB (SGD 164)
Nanny (a lot of experience taking care of newborn babies) - up to 3500 RMB (SGD 716) in big cities only
Source : http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/HH18Cb01.html

The fact is that maids do earn a lot more when they come to Singapore to work. Also note that their food and lodging are fully paid for by the employer, so ideally they should be able to save all their salary, or send money back home so that their families can live comfortably.

What I Look Like Just Doesn't Matter

2010-04-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

I admit it. I now have a pot-belly. And it bothered me.

After being underweight for the past 2+ years, struggling with a lack of appetite and the associated difficulties in maintaining weight, since being on Ampligen for 2 1/2 months, hunger has returned! But with it came a whole new set of problems for me.

The most obvious one is that my body looks weird to me now. Yes, I still have the skinniest legs in North America, and some years back, thanks to the gluten sensitivity and the "gluteal wasting" aspects of this disease, I lost my butt completely. I used to be an athlete, running 6 miles a day, doing squats and all sorts of weight lifting, and was pretty proud of my athletic buns. Not today.

My silhouette from the waist down, to quote Foghorn Leghorn, looks like "the highway from Ft. Worth to Dallas. No curves!"

My pants no longer stay up at all, regardless of how hard I yank my belt. Picture trying to put a belt on a solid marble smooth Roman column - that's my dilemma each day. No matter what you do, the belt just slides right to the ground. Smooth, straight, and shiny...there's just nothing there on the backside to hold it up!

Now slap on a papoose on the front side above the belt line and you have an idea what I saw in the mirror, to my horror, the other night. On the cellphone with my wife I screamed out, "Geez, I have a pot-belly!" I exclaimed. "I'm getting too fat!" She of course said all the right things about "loving the man inside," and "being in love with more than my body," but it still bothered me, in the same way that it bothered me when I was way too skinny.

Two years ago, when the stock market was in the toilet and long before I started Ampligen, my business partner saw me in person after only talking on the phone for about a year, not realizing how skinny I had become. I was down to 167 pounds at the time, (I'm 6 feet tall) and until I saw the look on his face I wasn't real worried about it. But he looked so freaked out seeing my suit pants tied around my waist like Ellie May Clampet's jeans with a rope, and the lack of curves in my face, that he blurted out something like "Man you're really skinny. Are you all right?" I think I deflected a little and said something like, "yeah, my weight goes up and down like the stock market," but his shock was noticeable to me. And was one of the ingredients in my decisions to come here to start Ampligen.

As it turns out, the fluctuation of my weight while fighting this disease might be a good stock predictor. I've charted my poundage over the past 2 years and have concluded that the bigger my belly, the higher the S&P average. I just completed my 22nd Ampligen treatment, and the Dow popped up over 11,000 yesterday, probably because I hate a whole strawberry cheesecake the night before. But get ready to sell; I'm going on a diet soon!

All kidding aside, the dietary and appetite challenges we face can affect more than just how we look. This stuff also affects how I feel about myself.

For example, with or without an appetite, for me to go to a restaurant and actually order something I can eat is torture to me. Finding an entre that doesn't have wheat, msg, sugar, seeds, hot-spices, etc. makes reading the menu a chore, rather than a pleasure. Getting a waitress to actually cooperate with my limitations and "strange requests" make it all the more challenging.

I was at a local steakhouse with a friend recently, and discovering that the day's lunch menu had nothing I could eat, I decided to make something up on the spot.

"Can I have this salad without the onions, crutons, and tomatoes please?"

"What?" she asked incredulously, "I mean, you'll just end up with lettuce and cucumbers, sir."

"Great, that's the salad I want please. Just lettuce and cucumbers."

Now on a roll I thought, I continued humbly: "Can I get this halibut poached instead of barbequed?"

"Oh, no, we don't have that, sir." she said matter of factly.

With my lunch mate looking impatiently at his watch, I started feeling self-conscious, so I decided to move into my Jack Nicholson in "Five Easy Pieces" mode.

"OK," I said, smiling as sincerely as I could, "Do you have doggie bags?"

"Yes, sir. Why?"

"Well, take the halibut from this item, and instead of BBQing it, throw it in a doggie bag. Then take the onion you took off my salad, and throw that in there with 4 ounces of water. Ask the chef to seal the bag, shove it in the oven for 25 minutes, and serve what's in the bag to me on a plate. You now have poached halibut!"

Now I confess, part of me was delighted in my creative ordering solution that day, but another part of me was actually embarrassed to have to be so "special" and "different" at a restaurant in front of my friend. And that's the biggest rub, and biggest lesson I'm taking away from all this body morphology thinking.

What I'm discovering is that what I look like just doesn't matter. Whether I look good or bad, "normal" or sicker than a dog, it doesn't change people's perceptions of me, or more importantly, my perception of me.

Sometimes the problems we face are that we often don't manifest symptomology externally. Many of my fellow patients tell me "we are damned if we do, damned if we don't," referring to the fact that so much of our illness is invisible, that many friends and loved ones will actually say these gut-wrenching words: "Well you don't look sick." On occasion in frustration trying to explain to an ignorant doctor, I've asked, "would you treat me different if my pancreas was hanging out of my torso, or my spleen was running out of my nose?" The fact that I wore a suit to his office and wasn't bleeding sadly affected his diagnosis, adversely. I've learned the hard way that on doctor visit days, I shouldn't shave, bath, or brush my teeth. Helps with the diagnosis, if you know what I mean. I'm serious!

Apart from physician visits, I think it's natural and healthy to want to leave the house dressed nicely, with the best attitude possible despite difficult circumstances. But when I put on a false face, and am worried about "my figure" or the fact that I have a "pot belly" instead of simply getting well, then I've crossed the line.

So I now wake up every day no matter what with a smile, pleasant music, and a bath. I shave whether or not I plan on seeing anyone that day. I put on clothes that feel good to me, rather than flatter my figure. I look in the mirror, see my butt-less frame, my growing pot belly, and say out loud, "baby got no back, but baby got belly!"

Then I say that which is most important to God.

"Thank you Lord, that I'm alive today, that the Ampligen is healing me, as evidenced by this weight gain. I'm one of the bravest guys I know, and this is going to be a great day!"

Then I rush to the Internet and buy more stock.