Kantoi Lagi
I’ve almost had enough with people trying to fool me to get their way. And I find it totally strange that somehow, I will always find out the truth.
When that happens, I always get anxious, wondering why God wants to show me the true colors of that person. What is he trying to tell me? Why reveal?
My maid was caught lying last weekend. This maid, whom I’ve had for the past 2 years and whose contract is expiring end of this month, had requested for cuti last Saturday. And she wanted to stay overnight at her cousin’s place.
My first thought, biarlah dia pegi… dah nak balik pun. But my husband suspected something else.
When we questioned her about her plans, she gave us a long list of things that she wanted to do with her “cousin” ni. Nak pegi salon lah, urut kaki lah, tengok movies lah.. but most importantly, she wanted to check out the pasar malam at Jln Masjid India.
“Kak.. saya nak sangat beli baju India untuk anak saya.. dan baju melayu yang macam Nizzar pakai tu..”, she pleaded with me. Kesian pulak I dengar. I pun memang ada intention nak beli baju macam tu untuk si Nizzar.
So I said, ok.. nak pegi boleh, but nak stay overnight, tak boleh. Anyway, pasar malam is not a good place for foreign workers because ada banyak polis under cover. Instead we asked her to bring her cousin to stay overnight at our house and the next day, we would send them both to Jln Masjid India to shop (punya lah baik majikan ni, kan?)
But she said, no.. the cousin wouldn’t want to stay at our house. (Cousin lives in Bandar Utama, sharing a house with other cleaners, and we live in Ampang). She said the cousin insisted that she stayed over at her place, which sounded a bit weird to me as Bandar Utama is further away from KL or Masjid India.
The plan was, the cousin would pick her up Ampang Point after she finished her work at 7.30pm, and the next day, she would send her back by car.
By car? How could an Indonesian worker afford a car??
My maid quickly corrected her statement saying that her cousin’s BOSS would send her home in his car. Amboi… baiknya boss cousin dia tu kan.. sanggup nak hantar my maid ni balik ke Ampang from 1-Utama!
That got me suspicious. I thought this girl was up to no good.
So, we said no. And my maid buat drama… menangis depan I sebab dia nak sangat2 jumpa cousin dia tu. Macam tak boleh tidak lah! Mesti jugak pegi by hook or by crook!
In the end, we said macam ni lah… why don’t you tell your cousin to meet you tomorrow since it is now almost 7pm. Kalau dia nak datang ke Ampang Point dari Bdr Utama, it’ll take at least 1 hour and there’s nothing much you can do at Ampang Point by then. We can still send you to Ampang Point tonight if you want to do your hair or urut kaki or whatever, but later we pick you up, suggested my husband (See? We are THAT kind)
She agreed. So at 7.30pm last Saturday, we all drove her to Ampang Point so she could get her hair done.
I don’t know whether we were being stupid or kind, but that’s what we did. I was cursing myself for giving in too much to her request but we wanted her to be happy as we wanted her to stay a little longer until we get her replacement.
So, we dropped her off and went to have our dinner…
As I had expected (somehow we have this hunch, don’t we?), at 9.30pm, she texted me, “Kak, I’m meeting with saya punya saudara. Tomorrow I balik. I minta maaf tapi I nak pergi sangat dengan dia for 1 night. Please forgive me.”
With that, I straight away knew that she had been lying. The cousin was actually a cover up for, whoelse but, a guy. She had planned this all along and was supposed to meet up with him that Saturday night. Itu yang beriya2 menangis tu sebab nak jumpa jugak!
I felt so disappointed with her, I really was. We treated her good, layan her like my own daughter, bawa dia jumpa doctor sana sini pasal jerawat muka dia tu etc, etc.. and she could do this to us?
I didn’t reply her SMS. My husband asked me to call her, but what for? I was adamant that I would not have her in my house anymore! I couldn’t believe she could ditch us for this guy whom she barely knew.
So anyway, the night passed with us strategizing our plans on how to manage the household without a maid...
The next day, Sunday, we all went to KLCC because budak kecik tu nak beli Ultraman. He was pestering us to take him to KLCC since morning to buy his toy, so in the end we went there at 3pm.
We had just arrived and had just finished buying some sweets from the new Candylicious outlet when, lo and behold… I saw MY MAID!!! She had just come out of a shop with many shopping bags in her hands, berkasut tumit tinggi, baju baru (beli baru agaknya sebab semalam dia keluar sehelai sepinggang saja), make up sikit punya tebal...
And you guess it lah… she wasn’t alone. There was a guy walking besides her. Macam bagus2… tersengeh2 berdua….
She didn’t see me because if she had, she would have run away. So I continued walking towards her and as our path crossed, I confronted her, “Ohh.. inilah saudara kamu ni, ya? Siapa ni? Who is this?” She looked stunned. Muka pucat! Not a word from her mouth! The guy just stood there, dumbfounded as well.
Then my husband’s turn, “SIAPA NI?? SIAPA NI??” Also no answer. Senyap sunyi macam tikus dua-dua orang tu.
But since we were very kind people and didn’t want to embarrass her in front of other people that afternoon, we let her go off. There was nothing more to say anyway. The truth had been revealed and she knew she had been caught red-handed.
God is great, kan? Kita dah nasihat dia elok2, dia nak kelentong kita jugak… last2 Tuhan tunjukkan pada kita perkara yang sebenar. Haa.. padan muka! Who would have thought I would bump into her at KLCC that afternoon, right? Pasar malam, my ass!!
I didn’t think she would come home on Sunday, but she came back anyway. We were not at home at that time. Boyfriend dia nilah yang hantar balik pakai kereta agaknya (they guy looked local, not Indon). We asked her to wait outside the house for nearly 2 hours. Padan muka! You bijak sangat nak tipu kita, tunggulah kat situ!
Since that day, I have not spoken to her. I only speak when necessary. I didn’t ask her to explain why either because there’s nothing more to explain. Ikutkan hati, memang I nak suruh dia keluar saja dari rumah tu because I cannot trust her anymore. But my husband ni insisted that we keep her until we get a new maid.
Keep lah… but I am no more Mr Nice Guy. No more gelak2 macam dulu, no more eating together at the dining table, no more leeway for you. We want to treat you like family, but it seems like you want us to treat you like any other maids. So, there you have it!
Lesson learnt: Don’t be too nice to the maid, nanti dia pijak kepala kita. People used to tell me this before, but I didn’t believe them for I feel you have to be nice to them so they stay. After this incident, I would definitely be more careful…
When that happens, I always get anxious, wondering why God wants to show me the true colors of that person. What is he trying to tell me? Why reveal?
My maid was caught lying last weekend. This maid, whom I’ve had for the past 2 years and whose contract is expiring end of this month, had requested for cuti last Saturday. And she wanted to stay overnight at her cousin’s place.
My first thought, biarlah dia pegi… dah nak balik pun. But my husband suspected something else.
When we questioned her about her plans, she gave us a long list of things that she wanted to do with her “cousin” ni. Nak pegi salon lah, urut kaki lah, tengok movies lah.. but most importantly, she wanted to check out the pasar malam at Jln Masjid India.
“Kak.. saya nak sangat beli baju India untuk anak saya.. dan baju melayu yang macam Nizzar pakai tu..”, she pleaded with me. Kesian pulak I dengar. I pun memang ada intention nak beli baju macam tu untuk si Nizzar.
So I said, ok.. nak pegi boleh, but nak stay overnight, tak boleh. Anyway, pasar malam is not a good place for foreign workers because ada banyak polis under cover. Instead we asked her to bring her cousin to stay overnight at our house and the next day, we would send them both to Jln Masjid India to shop (punya lah baik majikan ni, kan?)
But she said, no.. the cousin wouldn’t want to stay at our house. (Cousin lives in Bandar Utama, sharing a house with other cleaners, and we live in Ampang). She said the cousin insisted that she stayed over at her place, which sounded a bit weird to me as Bandar Utama is further away from KL or Masjid India.
The plan was, the cousin would pick her up Ampang Point after she finished her work at 7.30pm, and the next day, she would send her back by car.
By car? How could an Indonesian worker afford a car??
My maid quickly corrected her statement saying that her cousin’s BOSS would send her home in his car. Amboi… baiknya boss cousin dia tu kan.. sanggup nak hantar my maid ni balik ke Ampang from 1-Utama!
That got me suspicious. I thought this girl was up to no good.
So, we said no. And my maid buat drama… menangis depan I sebab dia nak sangat2 jumpa cousin dia tu. Macam tak boleh tidak lah! Mesti jugak pegi by hook or by crook!
In the end, we said macam ni lah… why don’t you tell your cousin to meet you tomorrow since it is now almost 7pm. Kalau dia nak datang ke Ampang Point dari Bdr Utama, it’ll take at least 1 hour and there’s nothing much you can do at Ampang Point by then. We can still send you to Ampang Point tonight if you want to do your hair or urut kaki or whatever, but later we pick you up, suggested my husband (See? We are THAT kind)
She agreed. So at 7.30pm last Saturday, we all drove her to Ampang Point so she could get her hair done.
I don’t know whether we were being stupid or kind, but that’s what we did. I was cursing myself for giving in too much to her request but we wanted her to be happy as we wanted her to stay a little longer until we get her replacement.
So, we dropped her off and went to have our dinner…
As I had expected (somehow we have this hunch, don’t we?), at 9.30pm, she texted me, “Kak, I’m meeting with saya punya saudara. Tomorrow I balik. I minta maaf tapi I nak pergi sangat dengan dia for 1 night. Please forgive me.”
With that, I straight away knew that she had been lying. The cousin was actually a cover up for, whoelse but, a guy. She had planned this all along and was supposed to meet up with him that Saturday night. Itu yang beriya2 menangis tu sebab nak jumpa jugak!
I felt so disappointed with her, I really was. We treated her good, layan her like my own daughter, bawa dia jumpa doctor sana sini pasal jerawat muka dia tu etc, etc.. and she could do this to us?
I didn’t reply her SMS. My husband asked me to call her, but what for? I was adamant that I would not have her in my house anymore! I couldn’t believe she could ditch us for this guy whom she barely knew.
So anyway, the night passed with us strategizing our plans on how to manage the household without a maid...
The next day, Sunday, we all went to KLCC because budak kecik tu nak beli Ultraman. He was pestering us to take him to KLCC since morning to buy his toy, so in the end we went there at 3pm.
We had just arrived and had just finished buying some sweets from the new Candylicious outlet when, lo and behold… I saw MY MAID!!! She had just come out of a shop with many shopping bags in her hands, berkasut tumit tinggi, baju baru (beli baru agaknya sebab semalam dia keluar sehelai sepinggang saja), make up sikit punya tebal...
And you guess it lah… she wasn’t alone. There was a guy walking besides her. Macam bagus2… tersengeh2 berdua….
She didn’t see me because if she had, she would have run away. So I continued walking towards her and as our path crossed, I confronted her, “Ohh.. inilah saudara kamu ni, ya? Siapa ni? Who is this?” She looked stunned. Muka pucat! Not a word from her mouth! The guy just stood there, dumbfounded as well.
Then my husband’s turn, “SIAPA NI?? SIAPA NI??” Also no answer. Senyap sunyi macam tikus dua-dua orang tu.
But since we were very kind people and didn’t want to embarrass her in front of other people that afternoon, we let her go off. There was nothing more to say anyway. The truth had been revealed and she knew she had been caught red-handed.
God is great, kan? Kita dah nasihat dia elok2, dia nak kelentong kita jugak… last2 Tuhan tunjukkan pada kita perkara yang sebenar. Haa.. padan muka! Who would have thought I would bump into her at KLCC that afternoon, right? Pasar malam, my ass!!
I didn’t think she would come home on Sunday, but she came back anyway. We were not at home at that time. Boyfriend dia nilah yang hantar balik pakai kereta agaknya (they guy looked local, not Indon). We asked her to wait outside the house for nearly 2 hours. Padan muka! You bijak sangat nak tipu kita, tunggulah kat situ!
Since that day, I have not spoken to her. I only speak when necessary. I didn’t ask her to explain why either because there’s nothing more to explain. Ikutkan hati, memang I nak suruh dia keluar saja dari rumah tu because I cannot trust her anymore. But my husband ni insisted that we keep her until we get a new maid.
Keep lah… but I am no more Mr Nice Guy. No more gelak2 macam dulu, no more eating together at the dining table, no more leeway for you. We want to treat you like family, but it seems like you want us to treat you like any other maids. So, there you have it!
Lesson learnt: Don’t be too nice to the maid, nanti dia pijak kepala kita. People used to tell me this before, but I didn’t believe them for I feel you have to be nice to them so they stay. After this incident, I would definitely be more careful…
Comments
BJ, you will still be nice to your future new maid because that is how you are with people, tak kira lah maid ke orang biasa ke. It's ok to treat them nicely, but perhaps learn to be berwaspada sikit. Many employers have had their fingers burnt sebab they had maids yang buat perangai jugak. So take note on how they manage their maids - what can be given easily and what you should hold back and what you shouldn't allow at all.
Manusia ni memang tak tau untung. Risna is a prime example of one. Redha aje lah...dia pun nak balik dah and for the past 2 years dia pun jaga rumah you dengan baik and look after Nizzar well too. Memang lah sakit hati bila ditipu begitu. So, I hope you will let her go as soon as possible and find a replacement. Perhaps you should let her go first before your new replacement comes so that Risna tak boleh 'ajar' the new one her tricks. Well...it's something for you to think about because it requires some work on your side to teach the new one.
I have asked around kat sini but memang susah nak dapat new maids ke Malaysia. The govt puts a stop to exportation of maids ke Malaysia at the moment.
My maid balik bercuti 2minggu and will be back this Saturday.
"finger cross"
its been so long I didnt come here and reading your post and Kak Shila's post about maid really make me feel like sharing what I've been tru too.
kalau nak cite pasal maid, where ever country they came from, they always create domestic/household probs to the majikan..
My maid ran away early this year after working with me 7 years and gave me lots and loads of masalah..
masalah panjang tangan,
masalah menipu,
masalah dressing maut kat dlm rumah while kids and hub ada
masalah bergayut kat talipon memanjang, masalah asyik nak kuar jalan2 pegi salon lah, pegi beli pad lah, beli top up lah, tak kira waktu and left my primary school kids to mend on their own while i pegi kerja..
and eventually she ran away after tipu me, said she needs her balance salary of 1k to send home coz anak nak tunang..
I was really piss and and up to now still marah lagi kat dia, coz dlm diam2 dia also keep in touch with my mom's maid and cucuk my mom's maid with all sorts of ideas until recently my mom's maid who also worked with me for her first few months and have been working with my mom for 10 years told my mom she wanted to go back home for good.
my mom's maid ni pun pandai bermuka.. depan majikan kata camni, belakang majikan kata camtu..
kita paham kerajaan m'sia allow maid to have one day cuti for every week, but this maid of mom, dia kalau boleh almost every day nak kuar with all sorts of reasons and bila kuar tu, she will give my mom notice dlm sejam dua lagi nak kuar baru gitau.. and kuar tu bukan setakat pegi giant.. but to KLCC, to ampang point.. she naik cab sendiri..
and bila kuar, wahhh dressing code tak hengat donia.. cam keje pejabat lah lawanya..
so now dia pandai pulak nak ugut2 my mom, kata macam2.. so my parents decided to let her go come this coming june (bila permit and passport mati) and also standby je if she happens to run away..
but then this maid ni nanti bila dah balik indon, bila duit yg bnyk dah abis dlm sekejap masa je, mula lah asyik call, nak minta keje balik lah, mula lah cite duit abis nak cari kerja coz nak tanggung anak lah, mak bapak kat kg lah..
soooo.. I mmg sakit hati bila dgr cite maid2 yg suka tipu majikan..
i agreed with you jgn bagi muka kat maid2 ni sgt.. kita buat baik kat depa pun nanti bukan depa appreciate pun.. yg penting pada depa dpt kebebasan boleh jln sana sini, boleh lepak2 instead of really buat keje rumah.. huhuhu..
so now I am maid less and to have a maid again, i guess no lah.. I am still traumatized by what my maid did to me.. yg tak tahan tu cite drama sinetron maid yg tak abis2 dari satu babak ke satu babak yg sumenya ada loop holes for us majikan tu figure out yg cite depa sumenya berlakon utk minta simpati dan menipu majikan je.. huhuhu..
oh lagi satu, jgn lah bagi maid2 ni guna hp.. that is one tool that maid lagi menjadi2 drama sinetron nya..
Thanks for sharing your story. Oh my... how can you tahan with that kind of maid for 7 years??
This maid of mine, kerja elok, polite,I really like her. Tapi itulah, dah nak hujung2 ni, macam2 pulak cerita dia.
Ini semua puncanya handphone lah. Tapi macamana nak stop them from using handphones? Everyone in the house uses one, dia pun nak lah. That's when all the problems start.
I wonder, maid2 ni, kalau dibagi kebebasan menggunakan handphone, tak boleh ke guna kan dengan baik? Don't misuse it. Peninglah!
I think, next round, kalau maid minta phone, I will give her a postpaid under my name. Senang I nak track the usage! Boleh tak?
camne I boleh tahan for that 7 years? welp, i got no choice but terpaksa.. cuba buat baik dgn dia.. apa kita makan dia makan, sakit bawak gi sepital, kita gi holiday, dia pun ikot skali mana kita pegi or mana gi outing for bfast, lunch, dinner or family gathering dia pun ada sama. Kita pun tak berkira dgn dia.. kira treat as family members lah jugak..
and dlm dia buat hal yg memacam tu, dia boleh lah tgk2 kan my kids cuma kena selalu supervise and remind her.. she was in her 40s with cucu but acting like cam anak dara.. tak boleh kena tegur skit.. sure buat cite sinetron lepas tu..
as for keje rumah, boleh lah dia tolong skit.. I depend her more on looking after the kids.. but after like 3 to 4 years working with me, she started to have hp and behaving differently, start menipu, start panjang tgn..
reason dia nak guna hp is because she wanted to call her kids and relatives senang rather than guna house phone..
i remember the first time i found out she has a hp, masa dia tak reti nak reload top up.. I got so mad that dlm diam2 and behind me, dia sneakily guna hp with the help of my mom's maid...
so many reasons came up about that hp.. and since then I take extra caution.. and yep, and since ada hp lah memacam drama sinetron terjadi.. start ramai kawan and exchange hp numbers to any tom dick and harry indon she met..
I also found so many of my kids stuff or even mine and hubs punya brg2 dlm bag baju dia.. she took without telling.. and she also like to ambil my kacang tanah (the raw ones) also my cili kering sorok dlm timbunan baju dia.. I still wondering why must she did that.. nak kata masa tu dia nak balik indon, tak jugak..
and dek kerana ada hp, she spent most of her working time talking on hp with boyfriend dia yg punya lah ramai.. sume org dia layan.. sampai anak2 tak terjaga..
she was suppose to heat and prepare lunch for the kids before going to school, she ended up of not doing it..
and she fed the kids only at 6 pm coz she knows that by that time I dah nak balik rumah, so bila tanya anak2 dah makan ke blum, sure anak2 jwp dah..
if dia prepare lunch pun, dia gorengkan telur and nasi letak kicap or buatkan maggie mee je almost tiap2 hari.. penatlah kita masak memacam and pesan to re heat the dishes for the kids.. huhuhu..
and hp dia ringing lagi busy dari hp majikan dia.. even tengah malam pun hp dia ringing.. and she slept with short pants and camisole bra less and kuar bilik cam tu je. huhuhu..
pastu cite nak pegi salon jgn ckp lah.. lagi stylo dari majikan.. at one time she spent almost rm400 to do rebonding. at first dia kata dia nak duit nak hantar kpg, pastu kata nak kuar gi kedai depan jap nak betul kan baju and after like 4 hours, she came with new rebonded hair!..
and thank god my kids tak ada apa2.. and rumah pun selamat tak kena apa2 juga.. and when i came back, the kids told me, and guess what the maid said.. sorry lah, saya lupa.. I am so mad and furious lah with how she answered.. as if it was nothing..
after that I gave her piece of my mind lah kan.. and also ask her why she is behaving like this, is she having a bf ke and planning to kawen ke? coz if YES, i really wanted to send her home.. and she proudly said, if YA knp lah?
huhuhu.. right there and then, i told my hub, abis je work permit, am sending her home.. huhuhu..
as for the handphone tu, susah skit lah nak control.. yes you can try with the post paid.. i guess good idea jugak. or else, suh dia guna telekom punya phn card iTallk.. each time dia nak call, dia kena guna iTalk.. but never ever give them hp.. cam teenage dpt kunci kete, langkah jauh, maid pun sama gak.. pantang dpt hp, lagi panjang lah langkah sinetron dia..
entah lah maid2 ni, bila kita buat baik salah, apatah lagi kalau kita dera depa.. dah sure2 lah salah.. but now, it is depa yg dera kita mentally.. how lah.. huhuhu..
Memang drama!
You are just a very nice person. I am not as kind as you, I treat them well, beli baju etc, but I keep them at a distance, I cannot sembang2 personal stuff with them.
Sabar je lah BJ, until you get a new maid. Kaya dia shopping kat KLCC, I pun gi Jln TAR je..he he
Janganlah disappointed sgt dia buat cam tu, after all, some of them yg ada husband pun buat cam tu kat husband, apatah lagi kita yg hanya majikan.
Jah
Ummi365
She is still at home.. i'm still giving her the cold treatment. Only speak when necessary.. i'm looking for a new maid.
I've been a silent reader for many years & really enjoy your entries. This entry was one of them, sampai couldnt resist commenting!
Reading everyone's horrific maid experiences have made me realize how blessed I am in this dept. My maid has worked with my family for 21 years. She gets 3 months off every 2 years to balik kampung & is treated like family. And her children even come to stay with us, sometimes for 2 months at a time!
When friends come over, they cannot believe how normal my maid is, how easily she blends in with us. Tak banyak songeh, cleans, cooks like a champion, tak banyak cakap. We've taken her on vacation with us abroad and have even brought her for Umrah. And each time we give her a mobile phone, she either gives it back or asks if she can send it to her children back in her kampung. She refuses to have one for herself. So we let her use the house phone and we buy iTALK cards for her to use when she needs to call her family in Indonesia.
She has proven to be a real gem, sampai suruh balik cuti pun she refuses. Bagi 3 months but she'll be back in 2. Bagi 1 day off a week but she'll stay home and find something to do. Dia ni jenis tak reti duduk diam, she must be occupied with something otherwise she'll feel useless.
I have lost count the number of people who have tried to poach her from us throughout the years. Memang we are truly blessed to have her in our lives. Other maids have come and gone but she has stayed on. All our relatives send their maid to our house for 2 weeks so she can train them!
What I adore most about my maid is how strong her faith in Islam is. She wakes up at 5am, starts her chores, never misses her prayers and goes to bed at midnight, only to wake up at 2am to start praying again. She even conducts religious lessons for the kids. When people meet her, they cannot stop commenting on how berseri her face is.
I pray that you will find a better maid soon, Mrs N. Tho they are hard to find, my maid is living proof that they do exist :)
I tension dengar cerita you... My new maid ni pun baru2 ni kata nak keluar dgn my mom's maid pastu hilang... My mom's maid tak tau pun mana dia pegi....
It's great to know there are still loyal maids/helpers around. You must be one of the lucky ones.
21 years is a long time. You and your family must have treated her well, that's why she stays.
May Allah bless you and your family. Thanks for sharing your story. Take care..
Trick nak keluar dengan saudara / maid lain atau sesiapa yang sewaktu dengan nya tu dah biasa di dengar... Sabar je lah.. :)
Sue
What's new, huh? Yang lari lepas sebulan dua tu, makna nya bukan datang sini nak kerja rumah orang lah. They have other hidden agendas which menyusahkan kita saja as employers.
Sabar je lah. I hope you'll find a replacement soon.
Baru2 ni sorang lari! Mmg contract nak hbis dah. Lagi 4-5bln. Tapi die lari dlu. Bwk baju2 die. And ALHAMDULILLAH mase tuh my sister ckp jewelry die smua ada tapi tak berusik. Pucat member! Die cuma amik RM70 je dlm tabung my nephew. Padahal tabung tuh FULL. tapi die amik 79 jer. Mcm2 la perangai dorang ni.
Memang padan laaaaa cha ya nun alif suka dera depa nih. sakit jiwe dibuatnye.