New Publication: UKM Ethnic Studies Paper Series No. 38

Aananthi a/p Thuraisamy. 2015. Cross Cultural Relations of Live-In Indonesian Maids within Selected Malaysian Households. UKM Ethnic Studies Paper Series No. 38, August. Bangi: Institute of Ethnic Studies. ISBN: 978-967-0741-14-7

Abstract: The movement of migrant workers from their homeland to other countries is not a new phenomenon, let alone in this globalized era. People are moving across national borders to catch opportunities for a better job, salary, life as well as to pursue their dreams. The movement by migrants leads to the meeting of two or more cultures in interaction among people of different cultures. Cultural differences between home and host country have created series of cross cultural experiences between migrants and the host population. One of the targeted countries in Southeast Asia by migrant workers is Malaysia. Malaysia is seen as a ‘gold mine’ by people of poor neighbouring countries. Indonesian migration to Malaysia is not a new story in Southeast Asia migration history. In the context of Malaysian households, Indonesian maids experience cross cultural relations with their host families as they bring along their own cultural values, norms and beliefs into the lives of Malaysian families that tend to blend with the local families’ values and norms leading to the meeting of two or more cultures in interaction. Therefore, it is said that many Malaysian households are losing their original identity in many aspects of life within the family context due to the cultural influence brought about by the live-in maids as they are the substitute homemakers in the households. Therefore, it is the intention of this paper to examine the cross cultural relations between the maids and their host families in the process of adaptation within the middle class Malaysian households depending on the degree of ‘nearness’ between them. Intensive interviews were conducted among selected Indonesian maids and their middle class employers within the study location.

Keywords: Migration, women migrant workers, foreign domestic workers, middle class households, cross cultural relations

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