
Indonesian officials wait to retrieve Adelina Lisao’s body
On Saturday, February 10, 2018, 26-year-old Adelina Lisao was “rescued” from her employers’ house. She was taken to hospital, where she died on Sunday. Adelina Lisao was one of hundreds of thousands of domestic workers in Malaysia. Most of those workers are Indonesian and Filipino. For weeks, Adelina Lisao was tortured, often in plain sight and earshot of neighbors. The sort of violence visited upon Adelina Lisao is not an unusual occurrence for Indonesia and Filipina domestic workers in Malaysia, as has been documented for decades. Adelina Lisao died on Sunday. On Monday, the Indonesian government demanded “justice for Adelina.” On Tuesday, the press announced, in headlines, “Death of maid treated ‘like a dog’ casts spotlight on migrant abuse in Malaysia”. Just because there’s a glimmer in the dark doesn’t mean that a light is shining. If history is any guide, by Friday, Adelina Lisao’s named will be filed away and forgotten, and the mass abuse will continue.
In 1997, Christine B.N. Chin, a scholar of transnational migrant women’s labor, studied “the distinct ways in which public walls of silence continue to surround the absence of labor rights and benefits for foreign female domestic workers in the receiving country of Malaysia.” Chin noted that, despite the best efforts of Malaysian ngo’s, “efforts to break down public walls of silence surrounding the absence of labor rights and benefits for foreign female domestic workers have met with little success.” Twenty years ago, the situation of Indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia was recognized as an already longstanding issue. Since then, the public walls of silence have only grown thicker and higher. There is no spotlight nor loudspeaker breaking through that wall, not as yet.
In 2004, Human Rights Watch published a report on abuses against women domestic workers in Malaysia, which began: “In May 2004, graphic photographs of the bruised and burned body of Nirmala Bonat, a young Indonesian domestic worker in Malaysia, were splashed across newspapers in Southeast Asia. In a case that drew international attention and outrage as well as a prompt response by both the Malaysian and Indonesian governments, Bonat accused her employer of brutally beating and abusing her.” Who remembers Nirmala Bonat? What is the life span of “international attention”? Where is the outrage today?
According to the ILO, in 2016, Malaysia employed 300,000 to 400,000 domestic workers, almost exclusively from Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines. In 2010, approximately 230,000 Indonesian women worked, legally, as domestic workers in Malaysia. In 2015, Malaysia and Indonesia met to discuss “ways to improve protection of Indonesian domestic migrant workers in Malaysia.” Where was that “protection” while Adelina Lisao was being abused, tortured, demeaned, starved, beaten, and all in plain sight?
Indonesia should have demanded justice for Adelina Lisao long before she arrived in Malaysia. Malaysia should have demanded justice for Adelina Lisao as well. Adelina Lisao, this week’s moment of “international attention and outrage”, cannot be merely another empty sign. She is the brick and mortar of success in the now-decades-old new economy. A specter haunts the world … and her name is Adelina Lisao.
(Photo Credit: Sayuti Zainudin / The Malay Mail)
Police question agency over maid’s death https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/02/15/police-question-agency-over-maids-death/
19 questioned over Indonesian maid forced to sleep on porch in Penang http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/19-questioned-over-maid-forced-to-sleep-on-porch
Adelina’s family demands compensation http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/02/17/adelinas-family-demands-compensation.html
Another migrant’s death http://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2018/02/21/editorial-another-migrants-death.html
Domestic worker’s death shows dire need for legislative reform
https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/412914
Swiss ambassador calls out Malaysia’s terrible maid abuse record https://asiancorrespondent.com/2018/02/malaysia-migrant-abuse/#gfyodH3JMgwY4Ugx.97
Stop hiring migrant workers until we can guarantee their safety https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/414476
Malaysia Needs Tougher Laws To Protect Domestic Workers https://www.star2.com/family/2018/04/06/domestic-workers-will-continue-to-be-abused-until-there-are-tougher-laws-to-protect-them/
How many deaths, and how many rapes are too many? http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2018/04/28/how-many-deaths-and-how-many-rapes-are-too-many/
Indonesian Migrant Workers Remain Vulnerable, Activists Say https://www.voanews.com/a/indonesian-migrant-workers-remain-vulnerable-activists-say-/4654542.html
Mother of dead maid treated ‘like a dog’ in Malaysia calls for justice https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/mother-of-dead-maid-adelina-lisao-calls-for-justice-malaysia-11235172
Adelina case: MP contacts attorney-general for action https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2019/04/20/adelina-case-mp-contacts-attorney-general-for-action/
Tenaganita wants AG to answer after boss of maid has murder charge dropped https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2019/04/19/tenaganita-wants-ag-to-answer-after-boss-of-maid-has-charge-dropped/
Women’s rights watchdog demands explanation for acquittal of Adelina’s alleged murderer https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/148989
Malaysia to appeal boss’ acquittal over Indonesian maid’s death https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/malaysia-appeal-boss-acquittal-indonesian-maid-murder-190515234103736.html
Adelina Lisao murder: March 4 case management in appeal against employer’s acquittal https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/01/14/adelina-lisao-murder-march-4-case-management-in-appeal-against-employers-ac/1827897
We’ll continue to seek justice for Adelina, says Indonesian official after court decision https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/09/22/well-continue-to-seek-justice-for-adelina-says-indonesian-official-after-court-decision/
Protect domestic, migrant workers in line with ILO conventions, govt urged https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/12/17/protect-domestic-migrant-workers-in-line-with-ilo-conventions-govt-urged/
Arrest warrant out for senior citizen in maid murder case https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/12/09/arrest-warrant-out-for-senior-citizen-in-maid-murder-case/
Women’s Tribunal Malaysia: Speaking up for workers https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/family/2021/12/03/women039s-tribunal-malalysia-speaking-up-for-workers
Malaysia, Indonesia ink MoU on Indonesian domestic helpers https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/indonesia-malaysia-sign-agreement-protection-migrant-workers
Indonesia, Malaysia sign agreement on protection of migrant workers https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-malaysia-sign-agreement-protection-migrant-workers-2022-04-01/
Indonesia to phase out sending domestic helpers to Malaysia, says ambassador | Malay Mail https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2022/04/11/report-indonesia-to-phase-out-sending-domestic-helpers-to-malaysia-says-amb/2052875
Court upholds acquittal in domestic worker murder case https://aliran.com/web-specials/court-upholds-acquittal-in-domestic-worker-murder-case
Apex court confirms senior citizen’s acquittal in maid murder case https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/06/23/apex-court-confirms-senior-citizens-acquittal-in-maid-murder-case/
Indonesia mulls civil suit against employer acquitted of Adelina’s murder https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/625927