Families Seek Missing Relatives in Malaysia

Ten months after the government suspended sending Cambodian women to work as maids in Malaysia, following numerous reports of abuse by employers and recruitment companies, families say they have completely lost contact with their loved ones who continue to work in Malaysian households. Local rights group Adhoc has recorded 269 complaints from families of missing maids so far this year, said Chuon Chamrong, head of Adhoc’s women and children program. Over the same period last year, the organization received just 50 complaints. … Nhem Kim Hoy, head of the vocational department at the Ministry of Labor, said that even though the government banned recruitment companies from sending maids to Malaysia last October, many maids who were already on contracts there remained in the country. …