People steeped in religiosity and so-called sexual morality should doubly be concerned that in less than 20 years this country will become not only a net exporter regionally of maids but also mates, wives and vice!

Other Malaysian women will be made drug mules or whores by their foreign boyfriends. So where’s the much touted national pride?

Today huddled in brothels of these countries – with Singapore and Australia added to the list – are more and more Malaysian sex workers, added to the growing list, willing to be abused for the sake of earning higher income of foreign currencies.

Time was (40 years ago) when the Ringgit was respectable vis-a-vis other regional currencies, our men would visit Japan or Korea and merrily look for women.

Nowadays, its Thailand and Indonesia. In 20 years, the trend will be reversed and the Indonesian and Thai men will start visiting us more and more for their trysts.

For there is a direct co-relation with income status of a country and this kind of thing!

Where is the much touted national pride when “Malaysia Boleh” spirit has become this?

Can the shame be compensated by glass & concrete monuments like Twin Tower, KLIA or MATRADE Expo Centre?

Oops – “…sweet heaRt deal…”

///I asked whether MATRADE (the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation) might in future end up in having to deal with the export of Malaysians as maids to foreign countries because of our losing international competitiveness./// – YB Kit.

But the important question: do we have an edge in the maid business – are we competive (regionally) compared (say) to Filipino and Indonesian maids?

For eg., Filipino maids have no qualms in working in non muslim households in neighbouring countries (say) Singapore in which pork is part of the handling and the meals. Are our maids prepared if they are of Islamic faith?

Wouldn’t Indonesian maids be expected to have higher tolerance threshold of maid mistreatment compared (say) to Malaysian maids used to special privileges at home??

But knowing Malaysia Boleh – and proud – spirit, we would counter these obstacles by giving value added and professional expertise to our maids.

We would market (maybe through auspices of MATRADE) our own under more respectable branding than “maids” – for examples, “Malaysian househelpers organisers or assistants” who have undergone professional courses back home of what it takes to do the job. We’re not competing with Filipino and Indonesian helpers who are just “maids”.

Our Malaysian agencies will have hostels in major cities of Singapore, Australia etc to solve the problem of “full time and sleeping in” Malaysian maids. (This is to ensure less opportunities for Malaysian maid abuse, and worse still sexual abuse…)

Working hours – regular 9pm to 5pm, after that they return to their hostels.

We will have collective employment agreements and Malaysian maids unions nailing specific points on dressing, whether there is uniform, whether can and cannot wear head scarf, what to cook and what not to cook….

Malaysian Men – well they can try the concept of Malaysian butlers. Maybe upon same terms above.

But as ever it must be asked – who will employ our Malaysian “househelpers organisers or assistants” and butlers???

As we muse the above, it may well be a glimpse of the future to come when the Ringgit worsens to RM5 against 1 US$, Vat kicks in.

Pundits have it that after the world economic crisis from property bust (sub-prime) leading to crash of the credit cycle (banking crisis) there are still other bubbles imminent to bust – eg the Credit Card bust and from there the Exchange Tradable Fund breakdown…

So get ready, we’re sooner there than expected and the more entrepreneurial amongst us should go over to the other countries to lay the foundation, set up the infrastructure to cater for this new export potential of ours.