AS a visitor to Penang, I am shocked to read some of the comments and reactions to the plan to give Indonesian maids a day off each week.

Firstly, how many employers of maids work seven days a week all year round?

If you only work five or six days a week yourself, you should extend the same courtesy to those who work for you.

Secondly, how can you say that if they have a day off, they should be prevented from leaving their employer’s home, as suggested by B.T. of Manjung (”Day off is good for them” — NST, July 3)?

The idea that they will run off or become pregnant only demonstrates the conditions they are being forced to work in.

In Hong Kong, where I live, we have maids from the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.

They all get one or two days off a week, plus holiday entitlement to go home.

None of the maids that I or my friends have used has ever run away or become pregnant.

At the end of the day, maids are people, too. If we treat them with some respect, knowing they are part of our household, then the trust will be returned. You may even come to regard them as part of your extended family, just as we do.

J.W., Hong Kong

Source: NST – July 6, 2009