Acknowledgement From The Grave

We gathered at my eldest sister's place for breakfast last Saturday, 31st December, 2011.
My daughter, her husband and their 10-month baby, flew in from Subang, that very morning to join in the birthday celebration of her cousin.
After zohor, they were sent to the airport to catch their 3pm flight home.

All those while, my brother-in-law did not get out from his bed, even when his and my siblings with their families, gathered together at his house.
He had been on the bed for the past few days.

"Lain kali, bawak pergi hospital," 
my auntie sound my eldest sister.

"Tak pe, dah tak de lain kali lagi."
I told my auntie.

The next morning, 1st January, 2012, Nora*, who is with my mother, called to say my brother-in-law had passed away at 8am.

My brother-in-law, who has only a son, loves my daughter as his own.
He himself, would stock the fridge with my daughter's favourite food, whenever she's in Singapore.
He was a very proud parent on my daughter's wedding day, as it was celebrated at his house too, beside Johor Bahru and Putra Jaya.

******

When my sister, my daughter and I attended a wedding in Shah Alam around 3 years ago, it was during that time that we knew, my sister's late principle's grandson is attending UM as my daughter.
My sister knew her late principle's family well.

Then as fate want it to be, although both are still students until now, wedding preparation was made for them within a short time frame.
My son-in-law is about to complete his Master, and my daughter, by pass it, is now doing her PhD.

For these, I am forever thankful to my daughter's parents-in-law.
They support them in persuing their studies.

The mother, a professor at a local U, renders her full support for their goals.
She had underwent that family live living oversea as student.
So, she understands well, how both of them are living their lives now.

They were in Singapore again the next day, 1st January, 2012, when they heard about my brother-in-law.

******

My eldest sister called last Thursday.
She said, she was still on her 'sajadah', when the late Ustaz Taha ( here and here ) appeared, offering her gift.

She asked him what it was, to which he said,  
"Kan saya baru dapat cucu." 

He just has had a grandchild. 

Yes, my daughter is his grandchild-in-law.
Her grandmother-in-law is Ustaz's sister, the late Ustazah Sa'adah Suhaimi.

Al-Faatihah.

*** Marriage Consent From The The Grave here

The Maid - Unholy Acts In The Holiest Place (14)

Another Indonesian maid dies in S. Arabia 
Mustaqim Adamrah

“Sister, I’m sick. I cannot stop vomiting blood. If I die, please do me a favor. I entrust father and mother to you.”

It was the last text message from 18-year-old Ernawati binti Sujono Konderin, an Indonesian migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, sent to her family on Jan. 26 before her final contact by the phone with her older sister, Yenni Larasati, on Feb. 1.

“I was really sad when reading her fi nal text message. I rushed to Jakarta on Jan. 31 from Tanjung Pinang [Riau Islands] to report Ernawati’s situation to the Foreign Ministry,”
Yenni said on Tuesday in a press conference at Migrant CARE Headquarters.

“On Feb. 1, [Ernawati] said over the phone that her employer’s son had tried to rape her. She was crying. After that, there were no more calls or text messages from her.”

Yenni said Ernawati was forced to kneel while her employer often slapped, punched, kicked, threw things at her or whipped her with a hose.
The employer’s lover allegedly followed suit.
She never received her salary, Yenni added.

Ernawati died on Feb. 10, 10 days after Yenni filed the report, from injuries allegedly sustained from physical abuse at the hands of her employer and his lover, according to Yenni.

“Every time I asked a ministry employee about my report, they told me it was still being processed — until my sister’s co-worker called our family on Feb. 10, saying she had died.”

Yenni said she was finally convinced of her sister’s death on Feb. 13, when someone at a hospital called her on Ernawati’s cell phone after Yenni’s numerous text messages and phone calls went unanswered.

“The guy at the other end said there was an Indonesian who had died and had been at the hospital for three days. I got all this information on my own, not from the ministry or the embassy,” Yenni said.

In a letter the Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Gatot Abdullah Mansyur, sent in February to the foreign minister, the manpower and transmigration minister and the head of the National Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), he said that the Al-Muntazah police in Hail had received a report about an Indonesian migrant worker who was being treated for swallowing rat poison.

“How can the ministry and the embassy say my sister died from rat poison while at the same time they tell me an autopsy on her body is about to begin?” Yenni said.

She also said the ministry and the embassy insisted they could not reach Ernawati’s workplace in time because it was in Hail, 700 kilometers from the embassy.

“Was it really that hard to get there? I flew from Tanjung Pinang, more than a thousand kilometers from Jakarta, to seek justice and it took only one hour and 20 minutes,” she said.

“Had they immediately followed up on my report and evacuated my sister, she might still alive now.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene and the director for legal aid and protection of Indonesian nationals overseas, Tatang Budie Utama Razak, could not be reached for comment.

University of Indonesia international relations expert Hariyadi Wirawan said embassy staff did not arrive in time possibly due to diplomats’ reluctance to travel that distance or a lack of financial and human resources.

Only two weeks ago, an Indonesian maid named Ruyati binti Satubi was beheaded by Saudi authorities after being convicted of murdering her employer, who had mistreated her.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Indonesia Abdulrahman Mohammed Amen al-Khayyat at the latter’s request at the State Palace on Tuesday.

However, instead of expressing displeasure, Yudhoyono hailed Saudi Arabia for “giving aid” to an Islamic organization.

Migrant CARE executive director Anis Hidayah said she had reported the ministry, the embassy and the BNP2TKI to the Ombudsman Commission, which receives complaints of poor public service, for alleged “negligence that led to Ernawati’s death”.

Source: The Jakarta Post - June 30, 2011

****** ****** ******

Divorcee Ruyati binti Satubi became a migrant worker for the first time in 1999.
She returned to Saudi Arabia again and worked for six years.

Her children asked her to change her mind when she was about to leave for the third time.
She was adamant of not wanting to see her three children facing bleak future.
One of them is in nursing school.
And she wanted to buy her son a car.

She insisted to fly to the Holy Land seeking fortune yet again, only to meet bitterness.
After a year and four months, she was beheaded.

From information that the family gathered, the grandmother of seven was tortured a lot from the very beginning of employment.
She had broken her leg during the initial three months, because of torture.
She was not admitted to hospital, but was treated by one of her employer’s children was a doctor.

Although Ruyati was a victim of violence by her employer, during trial, Ruyati confessed murdering 64-year old Khairiyah Majlad on 12 January, 2010.

She was not paid her three-months salary of SR 2400 despite being asked many times.
She was found guilty of of ruthlessly killing her employer, by repeatedly stabbing her.

For her offense, the 54-year old housemaid was executed by decapitation in Saudi Arabia.
One more Indonesian worker was beheaded in Saudi Arabia, on June 18, 2011.

The Indonesian embassy had not been advised beforehand about the execution.
The government saw the beheading as an unfair decision.
The execution over Ruyati is a great shock for many, irritated a lot of parties.

Migrant Care, an NGO that works for the rights of Indonesian migrant workers stressed that the government has failed to protect its citizen.
It had earlier reminded the government about Ruyati’s legal process in March 2011.

But the government denied it had been slow in preventing the decapitation penalty.
The execution has left Yudhoyono's government on the defensive as critics said there was not enough protection for Indonesian workers overseas.

Indonesia had summoned the Saudi envoy to express its "disappointment and deep regret" over the execution.

"We respect their legal system, but in this case, we feel they have failed to fulfil the Geneva convention on how to interact among countries," Teuku Faizasyah, the presidential spokesman for international affairs told Reuters.

"(The Saudi government) are being disrespectful of convention, they should have informed the embassy on any occurrence involving our nationals, especially in such cases where they are planning to execute our nationals," he said.

******

Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Indonesia Abdulrahman Mohammed Amin Al-Khayyat on Monday, June 20, had apologised for the execution of Ruyati.

He expressed regret that Indonesian Embassy was not given prior notice of the execution.
He assured Indonesia that it will not happen ever again.

******

Through RI Consulate General in Jeddah, the government has fought hard against the death penalty.
It had requesting the Saudi Board of Pardon (lajnatul afwu) to release Ruyati.

But the deceased family did not forgive her act.
The family did not forgive their 54-year old domestic helper Ruyati binti Satubi.

Indonesian government could not break the rigidity of death sentence in Saudi Arabia.

******

Ruyati’s three children in Bekasi, West Java, were initially informed by Migrant Care of Ruyati’s first hearing session on May 17, 2010.

In January 2011, they were told that the case was still on-going.
The family was then notified by the Foreign Ministry about the schedule for the next hearing that would take place in May 2011.

They had been struggling hard to find news about their mother's condition in foreign land.

Before long, a verdict was delivered, followed by an execution without them ever knowing anything about it.

Four hours before the mother was to be executed, one of her daughter saw the sight of 'her' in their kitchen.

Later, Migrant Care called to inform the mother had passed away.

******

The only person who had knowledge of the violence that led to 54-year-old Ruyati murdering her employer was Warni.
She is a fellow Indonesian worker who was hired by Ruyati’s employer too.

She knew a great deal about what Ruyati had to endure prior to the murder as they slept in the same room. She witnessed how the grandmother was punched and kicked.

Warni was reluctant to discuss Ruyati’s ordeal as it was Ruyati’s own request.
The grandmother had told her not to tell the children about what she saw.
She only revealed the truth after local police in Mecca moved in to arrest her.

******

Irwan Setiawan, the youngest of Ruyati’s three children, remember his mother as “a quiet and well-adjusted woman”.
She was reluctant to talk much about hardship she endured as a migrant worker.
She only talked about the good things in Saudi Arabia.

Irwan expressed his disappointment towards the role of the Indonesian government in helping his mother’s cause.
He felt neglected.

Ruyati’s family said they were let down by PT Dasa Graha Utama, a labour recruiting company which arranged Ruyati’s employment in Saudi Arabia.
At her age, Ruyati should have been ineligible to be sent abroad as a domestic worker.
The company had falsified information about the grandmother's age by registering her as 11 years younger.

Both the government and PT Dasa Graha Utama have responded to the grievances from Ruyati’s family by offering Rp 90 million (US$10,440) in compensation.

The family would wait until they have their mother's body home, despite information from the government that she was already been buried in Mecca, not far from the body of Saidatina Siti Khadijah, the wife of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

There are 216 Indonesians overseas facing execution, including 26 in Saudi Arabia.

Currently, there are 2.2 million Indonesians working in Malaysia and 1.5 million in Saudi Arabia.
Around 90 percent work as house maids and drivers for individual employers.

The Maid - Boyfriending @ Geylang

Nora*'s soft laughter as she talked, was to hide her blushing face.
She regretted hiding the paper that My Elder Sister was searching.
But she was ashamed to let My Sister read it.

There was a picture and story of an Indonesian maid and her boyfriend.
She felt ashamed looking at it, without even reading the paper.
She was ashamed because it involved her nationality, and it revolved around the work she is doing, being a domestic worker.

I did not know which paper and who was Nora talking about.
In My head, it was because of boyfriend issue that led Me to want her to follow Me to City Plaza.
It was not exactly because of remittance.

The second time she remitted some money, it was My Elder Sister who did it for her.
With that money, the mother had bought storage for water for Singaporeans' (???) usage, when they will be at her house soon.

******

Stories of maids had been hogging headlines lately.

27-year old Indrani arrived in Singapore last year, in March.

In July, she ran away from her employer and prostituted herself to earn money.

In October, she discovered her pregnancy without knowing who the father was.

She dug a 10cm hole to bury her newborn, his umbilical cord attached, on April 18 in Eunos Crescent in a rooftop garden.

Her baby's mouth, alive when found, was stuffed with mud and dried leaves.

The baby is now under foster care.

She was arrested near Eunos MRT Station on April 24 after overstaying here for 273 days.

She was jailed for 10 weeks and fined S$2,000 for abandoning her newborn baby.

****** ****** ******

Ruliyawati, married with a son, entered Singapore in July 2010.

A month later, Md Repon Mostafa befriended her.

Her body  was discovered on Monday morning, in a 2-meter water tank atop the 15-storey Housing Development Board block of flats in Woodlands, serving residents of  Block 686B, Woodlands Drive 73 on May 16.

The 27-year old Bangladeshi cleaner Md Repon was charged with her murder between 7:10 a.m. and 9:54 a.m.

****** ****** ******

An Indonesian domestic worker was about to finish her two-year contract.

She was asked to continue her service.

The four and two-year old toddlers she looked after, are too attached with her.

The maid laid down her term for extension.

She needs off days, which the employer agreed.

The employer received a police call at her working place to pick her maid at the police station.

Her domestic worker was caught with a Bangladeshi man at the beach not far from her house.

The employer was shown compromising and intimate photos of the maid with her boyfriend.

The maid gave the worst shock to the employer last February - Her two small kids were locked at home.

Just the two of them, to fend for themselves.

****** ****** ****** 

29-year old Anis Dwi Rianawati had told her employer that she was pregnant and would work for another two to three months before quitting.

A week later, she was missing from her bedroom at about 8am.

Her wallet, jewellery and some notes was on her bed.

It was a suicide notes.

The pregnant Indonesian maid had jumped from her employer's flat through the 18th-floor kitchen window on October 24, 2010.

Her body was found on a second-floor parapet shortly afterwards.

Her 45-year old Malaysian married boyfriend refused to stop seeing another girl in Batam. 

****** ****** ******

Another Bangladeshi worker, 35-year old Kamarul Hasan Abdul Quddus, met 25-year old Yulia Afriyanti at a social gathering in 2005.

They became intimate a year later in January 2007.

In September, she told her employers and friends that she would be marrying Kamrul in Indonesia.

But a month later, the marriage was called off as Kamrul was already married in Bangladesh with two children.

Early October, a Filipino construction worker, 25-year old Joseph Guerzon Corpuza, was given Yulia's number by his close friend, Aunt Annabelle.

He called her and they made plan to meet on Sunday, October 14.

She told him that her boyfriend had returned to Bangladesh.

Their relationship blossomed, became intimate, planned to marry but she never broke up with Kamrul.

Joseph would sometimes travel from Boon Lay to Grange Heights to meet her when she walked her employer's dog at 8 pm every night.

They had intimate relationship in November despite Yulia's fear of getting pregnant again.

Her previous pregnancy was aborted without knowing who the father was.

When Joseph saw the last of Yulia on Dec 9, she told him she and Kamrul Hasan were getting married in January.

On the evening of December 15, she called Joseph telling him she was going to Changi Airport with Kamrul to welcome his mother and brother.

He then tried to contact her many times but failed to do so.

When he finally managed to phone Yulia, a police officer answered, saying his former girlfriend was dead and that the police wanted to talk to him.

******

In mid December, upon Kamarul's return from Bangladesh, he met Yulia.

He then returned to his dormitory in Kaki Bukit but at 11.30pm, he took a bus to his worksite.

Less than eight hours later, a construction worker found Yulia's body in the cardboard box.

His fingerprints were found at the crime scene and DNA test showed they had sexual relationship within the 12 hours before she was found dead.

He was found guilty of strangling his girlfriend on December 16, 2007.

Her naked body was found at about 9.50am, in a big 1m long and 3/4m wide cardboard box in the bomb shelter of a third-storey unit at a condominium construction site in Queensway, near Holland Road, where he worked.

Police found Yulia's phone and jewellery in his Kaki Bukit dormitory locker when he was arrested on December 19.

He was sentenced to death in early January 2010.

****** ****** ******

24-year old Umi Umiroh was plagued by dreams of a crying baby in her employer's semi-detached house along Hillside Drive, a month into her job in July 2008. 

She told her friends about her dreams whom she usually met at the old age home, Ling Kwang Home in Serangoon Gardens. 

She took her employer's mother for therapy sessions twice a week.

The friends said it was the ghost of the previous maid's baby.

Kirun had confessed to them she had secretly given birth to a seven months baby girl in the toilet of her employer's house. 

She did not know what to do, so she just killed the baby, and buried her in the backyard.

While trimming grass in the garden later in theday, Umi smelled something foul. 

She related her fears to her employer of what her friends told earlier. 

A police report was made and the next day 9am, the police with four sniffer dogs, spent three hours in the garden. 

Then they digging up something buried about 15cm deep into the soil. 

Some small bones, born prematurely, wrapped with a yellow batik cloth, were recovered and analysed by the Health Science Authority.

Kirun, married with two children, was employed in June 2006, was always seen wearing loose-fitting batik dresses or oversized T-shirts.

Her main job was to take the employer's 82-year-old mother for physiotherapy sessions twice a week. 

They spent about seven hours from 8.30am to 3pm. 

Umi Umiroh arrived at Ms Goh's house on 6th June, spent two weeks with Kirun before she returned home on June 22.

Kirun, before her departure, had told Umi that she had at least two boyfriends in Singapore. 

She also told Umi about having aborted her three-month foetus, fathered by the Bangladeshi boyfriend.

Her Bangladeshi boyfriend gave her $10 each time they met.

Before she met the Bangladeshi, she was seeing a Myanmar national. 

She was able to meet them while waiting for the therapy sessions to end.

Three days before she left Singapore, she took Umi to meet her Bangladeshi boyfriend. 

He asked her to be his girlfriend after Kirun returned home.

****** 

I brought Nora to City Plaza to show her the popular hang-out for Indonesians on weekends.
It's Orchard Road's Lucky Plaza of the east. 

I wanted to show her how her folks are clothed, what some of her people are doing and behaving here - shopping, friending and boyfriending.
The partners are usually from Bangladesh.

But last Saturday afternoon, there were none to show her.
City Plaza was a desert, not a single maid's soul.
(to be continued)

The Robber, The Saint, Because Of Rajab

The notorious robber had passed away.

The children of Madinah knew that Prophet Muhammad sollaahu 'alaihi wasallam dislike what the man did.
The dead man used to roam the streets after midnight to run his activity.
He was elusive, and was never caught.

******

When news reached the children that the bad man had died,
they dragged his body through the streets of Madinah.
They then threw him into a dry well.

ALLAH Subhaanahu Wa Ta'aala said to the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w., 

"O My Beloved Prophet, today one of my saints has passed away. 
You must go and wash him, clean him, cover him, pray for him and bury him." 

Rasullah s.a.w. was surprised because that was the man whose character He did not like.
Now that the man had passed away,
GOD told Him that the highway robber was a saint (wali).

Rasulullah s.a.w. had even told himself, 'that is an evil person. 
He will never pray for him.  
He will not bury him in Muslims' graveyard.'

How could the robber be a saint?

But instead, GOD had told the Prophet s.a.w., 

'O Rasulullah, take him and purify him.' 

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. immediately called Abu Bakar as-Siddiq radhiallaahu 'anhu and said,

'O Abu Bakar, we have to go and bury the highwayman who died.'

Abu Bakar r.a. said,  

'O Rasulullah, 
You said that You did not want to bury that person in a Muslim grave for he is not a Muslim!' 

But the Prophet s.a.w. said, 

"No! Let alone ordinary Muslims. 
GOD informed Me today that the person was a saint!"

****** 

Rasulullah s.a.w. went into the well, and took that person's body out.
Then with His Companions,
they carried the body to the Prophet s.a.w.'s house.
The Prophet s.a.w. himself cleaned, washed
and wrapped the dead man in a shroud.

All the Companions were surprised.
Rasulullah s.a.w. performed ablution for the dead
with his own hands on that man.
He washed and prayed for him,
before the body was brought from Masjidin Nabawi to the Baqi cemetery.

It took the Prophet s.a.w. more than two hours for that fifteen minutes walk,
to move from the mosque to the cemetery,
as he was walking on tiptoes.

And that surprised His Companions even more! 

"O Rasulullah, 'Why are you walking on tiptoes?"

He said,   

"GOD ordered all saints from East to West, 
all angels from the seven heavens 
and all spiritual beings to be present 
and follow the bier (movable frame for coffin) of that saint. 

There are so many of them filling the way, 
that I cannot find a place to put my feet. 

Never in my life was I so surprised as I am today." 

******

No one can interfere with GOD's Knowledge, not even the Prophet s.a.w.  

If GOD makes the highway robber a saint, no one can ask.  

Everyone around us and everyone that we know,
can always attain betterment, better than us. 

GOD needs no human interference, but it is we, who need HIM. 

****** 

After the man was buried, Rasulullah s.a.w., shivering and trembling,
made His way home, without speaking to those around HIM.

Later, when the Prophet s.a.w. sat with Abu Bakr as-Siddiq r.a.,
He s.a.w. asked Himself what the saint had done?
An infamous robber all his life, but to receive such a high merit from the Creator?

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq r.a. said, 

'O Rasulullah, I feel ashamed to ask about what I saw today. 
It was so astonishing.'

To which He s.a.w. answered,   

"Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, I am even more surprised than you. 
I am waiting for Gabriel to come and inform me 
of what has happened." 

When Gabriel 'alaihis salam came, the Prophet s.a.w. asked him, to which he replied, 

"O Rasulullah, do not ask me. 
I am also astonished! 
Yet do not be astonished. 
GOD can do what no one can do.
HE is telling You to ask that man's daughter what he did in his life."

******  

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w., with Abu Bakr as-Siddiq r.a. immediately went to the man's house to see the daughter and said,   

"O My daughter, please tell Me how your father lived."

She told him,   

"O Rasulullah, I am very ashamed before You. 
What am I going to tell You? 
He was a killer, a thief. 
I never saw him do anything good. 
He robbed and stole day and night, 
except for one month during the year. 

When that month came, he would say, 
'This is the month of GOD,' because he heard You said, 

'Rajab is the month of GOD, Sya'ban is the month of the Prophet  
and Ramadan is the month of the Community.' 

So he said,   

'I do not care for the month of the Prophet  
or the month of the Community, 
only for the month of my LORD. 

Therefore, I am going to sit in my room and close it 
and perform seclusion during this month."

 ******

The man was out in the street looking for someone to rob. 

He found an old man of seventy or eighty years of age. 

He beat him until he was unconscious before robbing him. 

He then found a small piece of folded paper in the old man's pocket. 

He opened it and found a prayer inside. 

In the name of ALLAH, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful 

O ALLAH, 

I ask Forgiveness of YOU 
for everything for which I repented to YOU then returned to.

And I ask Forgiveness of YOU  

for everything I displeased YOU with, 

and all that concerns me with which YOU are displeased. 

And I ask Gorgiveness of YOU 

for the favours which I used, 

for increasing my disobedience towards YOU. 

And I ask Forgiveness of YOU 
for the sins which no one knows except You 

and no one sees except You 
and nothing encompasses except Your Mercy 

and nothing delivers from except YOUR Forgiveness and Clemency. 

There is no GOD except YOU alone. 

YOU are the Most High, and I was one of the self oppressors!

O ALLAH, 

I ask Forgiveness of YOU 
for the injustice I committed against YOUR servants. 

Whatever of YOUR male or female servants whom I have hurt, 
physically or in their dignity 

or in their property give them of YOUR bounty which lacks nothing. 

And I ask YOU 

'to honour me with Your Mercy which encompasses all things.' 

Do not humble me with YOUR punishment 

but give me what I ask of YOU, 

for I am in great need of YOUR Mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful. 

May ALLAH send blessings upon Muhammad 
and upon all His Companions. 

There is no power and no might except in ALLAH the High, the Exalted.

Blessings and Peace upon Sayyidina Muhammad, 
His Family, and His Companions.  

The robber liked that prayer, the Istighfar Rajab, very much.

So, every year, when the month of Rajab came around,
the man used to sit and read that prayer day and night.

Only during eating and ablution time did his tears dried.
Other than that, he was weeping all the time, reading the Istighfar Rajab.

But once Rajab was over, the man would get up and say,  

'The month of GOD is finished. 
Now, for my pleasure.'

He went back robbing and stealing for eleven more months.

******

When Rasulullah s.a.w. asked the daughter to bring Him the paper,
He s.a.w. kissed the paper, then rubbed it over His body.

ALLAH S.W.T. told Muhammad s.a.w.,

"O MY Beloved Prophet, 
that person came and repented to ME, 
in the most precious month of the year. 

For that reason, 
because he sacrificed at least one month of the year for ME, 
I have Forgiven him all his mistakes 
and I have changed all his sins into laudable deeds. 

As he had many sins, now he has many Rewards. 
He became a great saint."

Another Phase Of 'Living'

The excavator suddenly stopped when it hit a hard surface.

The road widening project had to be stopped for a few days because the heavy machinery operator was 'suddenly sick and had to be cured'.

The hard object that was hit was a wood that used to cover the body.
Excavation of the graveyard site brought to a halt.

A grandfather claimed the uncorrupted body in the affected grave belonged to his teacher who taught Al-Qur'an reading when he was small.

******

Nora*, who is currently staying with My Mother, asked if I believe her above story that happened around her area.

She then asked My opinion about her Indonesia's fourth president Gus Dur, to which I replied, since the man is already dead, he is not telling lies to have showed 'himself', unlike us, living beings.
How a person lived his life shows in his death too.

Heavy rain in February this year, had caused earth that covered his dead body to wash away.

His kafan, the white shroud, was exposed, still white as it was, and his whole body still remained intact, although he passed away last December 30, 2009.

****** 

Four months before Gus Dur's death, Jakarta was abuzz when it was found August 2, deceased Haji Abdullah Mukminin, a Tangerang, Jakarta resident, his face is as usual.
His body still remain intact, although his hair had whitened.

Even though the area of Batu Ceper, where the body was buried, is known to be swampy, the white cloth that covered his body is as was first buried, but with slight dirt.

There is no indication of decaying or insect bite to the camphor wood that covered the body for 26 years.

******

In 2007, the place was needed by Tangerang authority for road widening of Jalan Benda, Juru Mudi, and Batu Ceper, along Cianjane River, leading right up to Soekarno Hatta International Airport.

Nothing could be done to An-Najat Musolla and Haji Abdullah Mukminin gravesite, except both places have had to give way.

But work in Batu Ceper, supposed to be in January 2009, was only carried out in August.

Even before the relocation of the body, heavy machineries had been unable to function.
There was delay in the demolishing work on the musola, the praying area, and the relocation of Haji Abdullah Mukminin's body.

Excavators had repeatedly broken down.

Contractors had no other choice except to sit down to seek agreement from the deceased family members.

The praying area, on wakaf land, if brought down, surely will be missed by Haji Abdullah's family, as it was built by Haji Abdullah since the 50s.
The neighbourhood really wanted a place to pray.

The musolla had several times, its area was  extended and reconstructed.
The land, priced at Rp 500,000 / metre, excluding properties on it, but the family of Haji Abdullah refused compensation.

Instead, the family requested authority to rebuilt a new musolla at nearby Juru Mudi area, for locals still be able to perform their prayers.

And, An-Najat Musolla, could only be brought down using hammer and crowbar.
Strictly no heavy machinery allowed.

The cost of relocation of Haji Abdullah's body, however, was borne by his family although authority offered in footing the bill.

******

The deceased third son, Achmad Fathi, had several times observed relocation of bodies at Karet Bivak Cemetery, in Central Jakarta.

Hence he followed the normal preparation for his father, three containers of water, meant for washing whatever remains of bones of the father before relocation, and nine pieces of woodcuts 70 cm x 30 cm, meant for the bones' segregation.

But the preparation was not used, as his father, born December 16, 1919, buried Oktober 22, 1983, found August 2, 2009, was not only as if just being buried, but gave out aromatic atmosphere all around.

A loud ALLAAHU Akbar was simultaneously exclaimed by those witnessing HIS Greatness.

******

Suddenly there was a very big crowd gathered at the scene while work was going on.

Thousands gathered at the scene.
From where all these people came from?

No information was given to outsiders, not even the deceased students, as it was supposed to be strictly a family affair, with no more than 20 family members.

The sudden crowd had led to an unusual traffic jam, up to five kilometres away.

The body is now laid to rest in-front of son, Achmad Fathi's house, just 15 metres away from the previous location, with remains of two other family members, wife Maswani who passed away in 1980, and their second son, M Syurur.

The burial site will be extended as there are now, more people came to pay their visit.
The number kept increasing after the news of Haji Abdullah travelled further.

******

It was in the badminton court size An-Najat Musolla that Haji Abdullah taught his students since the 50s.

He spent his living days learning and teaching.

After five years learning from his teacher, Kiai Mursan, the teacher urged him to go to Mecca, where he later spent seven years studying in Darul Ulum.

His teacher in Mecca, Syekh Yasin, from Padang in West Sumatera, then requested him to return to Indonesia, to start educating society, especially in his area, Batu Ceper, Tangerang.
It was around the time of the Second World War, 1939 to 1945.

Haji Abdullah shared his knowledge from within the compound of his house, in informal meetings, unlike the pesantren ways of today.

Class in An-Najat would start after Magrib till 9pm.

Students would normally spent their nights in the musolla.
Not only spiritual learning, students were also taught about farming in the day.

******

Then in 1973, Haji Abdullah was requested to head Tangerang's religious court.

Although a Syari'ah court judge, he still rode his bicycle to his working place, 10 km away.


Haji Abdullah passed away in Oktober 22, 1983, due to  kidney failure.

He was buried behind the An-Najat Musolla, as requested.

Although he had built Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Islahuddiniyah in the 70s, but it was the An-Najat Musolla that he was fond of, the beginning of his preaching world.

He then built Al Taqwa and Teachers Foundation, not far from his house.                                                                    
The school is still brimming with students until today.

Al Faatihah

Pusara Abadi, The Forever Cemetery

A day after "Not Just 'Imam Muda' But Eternal Leader" was published here, my eldest sister called to say my mother wanted to visit Ustaz Taha's graveyard.

Ustaz appeared in my mother's sleep and showed her, his very big white house he is currently in.

Did Ustaz know I mentioned him?
GOD Knows Best.

So on Tuesday, we were at Pusara Abadi, the forever cemetery, at Jalan Bahar in Choa Chu Kang.

On the way there, I was told that the wife of Ustaz Osman Jantan, Ustazah Chik Syed Othman, had just passed away the day before.
Her husband, the late Ustaz Osman Jantan passed away just 2 weeks ago, June 7, at age 74.

I had never used his family's travel service, Hahnemann Travel and Tour, but my father, after his retirement, had several times travel to Mecca with ustaz.
Even my younger brother used Hahnemann's service for His musafir Haj.

I take this opportunity to mention my heartfelt thanks to the late Ustaz Osman Jantan.

His knowledge is blessed and passed on, as I had been using his history book, 'Kisah Khalifah-Khalifah Rasyidin' almost twenty years for my Sunday class. 

I had tried changes to other books, followed the IRK (Islamic Religious Knowledge) syllabus, but found the book by Ustaz Osman Jantan was easily understood by students. 

Not forgetting Ustaz Ahmad Sonhaji Mohamad, who passed away last year, August 12. 
His book, 'Mari Sembahyang', I had been using since small, and used it for the Sunday class too. 

Both men's writings are indeed valuable to the young generation. 

The Prophet Muhammad sollallaahu 'alaihi wasallam taught that 

three things continue to benefit a (believing) person even after death: 

*charity - which he had given (which continues to benefit others), 

*beneficial knowledge - which he had left behind (authored or taught), and 

*supplication (du'a) - on his behalf by a righteous child. 

- Narrated by Sahih Muslim  

****** 

Before we went to Ustaz Taha's place, we visited my father's.

My eldest sister asked Putra, the man who cleaned around my father's area, to plant a basil tree on the grave.

We then proceeded to visit Ustaz Taha.

True enough, his resting place is white all around, with basil tree on it.
I was told even on his wife's grave site, Ustazah Enon, who is at the same block as my father, there is also a basil tree.

We had a hard time locating my younger sister, who passed away on November 2003, 16th Ramadhan.
Her grave is somewhere beside the last year's relocation of those from nearby Pusara Aman.

Since she has more neighbours now, we asked Putra's assistance to help locating her place as we will be there again, GOD willing, tomorrow.

Although at the same block with my sister, we had to miss out Ustaz Syed Abdillah Ahmad AlJufri, who passed away January 4, 2003, as it was almost noon, and we have had more sites to go.

It is Ustaz Syed Abdillah's reminder that I hold on strongly until today, to recite the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah, whenever we are unable to finish the Qur'an.  

The Messenger Muhammad (sollallaahu 'alaihi wasallam)

believes in what has been sent down to Him from His LORD, 

and (so do) the believers. 

Each one believes in ALLAH, 
HIS Angels, HIS Books, and HIS Messengers. 

They say, 
"We make no distinction between one another 
of HIS Messengers" 

- and they say, "We hear, and we obey. 

(We seek) 
YOUR Forgiveness, our LORD, and to YOU is the return (of all)." 

ALLAH burdens not a person beyond his scope. 

He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, 

and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. 

"Our LORD! 

Punish us not if we forget or fall into error, 

our LORD! 

Lay not on us a burden like that which YOU did lay on those before us; 

our LORD! 

Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. 

Pardon us and grant us Forgiveness. 

Have Mercy on us. 

YOU are our Protector, and give us victory over the disbelieving people." 

- Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 285 - 286

******

Ustaz Syed Abdillah was once asked his daily surah, to which he replied was Surah Al-Faatihah, Aayatul Qursi and Surah Al-Ikhlas all recited seven times every dawn and dusk.

******

Around two years after Ustaz Abdillah's passing away, I was talking to a man who is still working part-time, supervising grave diggers, to share with Me, of his most memorable episode while working at the cemetery plot.

Seeing fleeing corpses just after burial with burnt and tattered clothes is a normal sight to him. 

Some fled with raging red fire burning ferociously behind them.

But there was once, even after several alterations made, the grave was always very much bigger than the normal size.

After more exhausted but failed trials, nothing they can do about what GOD wanted it to be.

They finally left the ample site as it was, as the spacious grave belonged to none other than Ustaz Syed Abdillah Ahmad AlJufri.

Even during the jenazah prayer, 5,000 attendees were at the Sultan Mosque.

Though the great teacher had left us eight years ago, but his teaching "here, about the importance of daily prayer" lives on...

******

While Putra was cleaning my grandmother's site, I asked him to share with me of a site which turned him on.

Yes, it is a site in Block 16, where he usually hear from far, a woman reciting versus from Al-Qur'an.
But he is not too sure in which grave site she really is, although there is luminous light glowing from faraway.

It reminded me of my eldest sister, who was shown a site where a woman, Raja Zubaidah, was buried.

Ayer Gemuruh Cemetery was near Changi, where fishermen in the early 60s and I think the 70s, passed by, on their way to the sea.
It was a usual before dawn hearing of Al-Qur'an recitation from where Raja Zubaidah was buried.
Her body was said to be sleep-like when exhumed.

My eldest brother was at Ayer Gemuruh Cemetery too, when these 'people' were to be relocated around the late 70s or early 80s.
One of the corpses, said to be a rich a woman, had her hair and fingernails entwined her 'body'...

My mother, when she was around 6 or 7 years old, (pre-Japanese occupation, I guess) used to see 'a man sleeping, not dead, in his not covered grave' at Bukit Larangan, Fort Canning Hill.

The 'sleeping man', she claimed, is Sultan Raja Iskandar Shah.
Parameswara? before became a Muslim?.

I had several times went up Fort Canning when I went to the National Library during my schooling days in the 70s, but never did I see 'a sleeping man'.

Even now, several times when weddings took place at Fort Canning Hill, I never missed going to the site.
Maybe one of these days, I'll see 'the sleeping man'?
GOD willing.

******

My eldest sister wanted basil tree to be planted at my grandmother's site.

Why basil? I asked My Mother.
It is because, she said, basil or selasih is not called selasih to Javanese, its selawat.

But basil is also used in funeral rites and planted on graves in many different cultures.
I'll do my own search till then.

******

In the mean time, I am still thinking of Siput binti Dolah.

Despite always being portrayed as a cruel woman, Siput binti Dolah, or Siput Sarawak, mother of the famous Anita Sarawak, must be a very good woman at heart during her living days.

Her grave site is just 3 plots away from Ustaz Taha.
Being a very close neighbour to Ustaz Taha, Allahyarhamah Siput binti Dolah is sure guaranteed Ustaz's syafa'ah, his intercession...

My day will come too, for sure.
But can I choose my closest neighbour?

Al-Faatihah         

My (Dr Amir Farid Isahak) Sister’s Cancer

The writer recounts how his sister struggled with breast cancer before succumbing to the disease.

THIS is not just another sad cancer story, but the story of the struggles my own sister, Ilani Isahak, went through, fighting her breast cancer for three years until she succumbed to the disease in February this year.
I had written a tribute to her (see http://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2011/3/13/lifefocus/8183426&sec=lifefocus), in which I extolled her service to the community and nation, especially her dedication in promoting interfaith harmony.
She died soon after successfully establishing the national interfaith committee, a task entrusted to her by the Cabinet.

Today, I shall focus on the health/medical aspect of her story.
I hope that by sharing her experience, many other women can be helped, not only to fight the cancer, but more importantly, to take steps to detect breast cancer early if it occurs.
There are also lessons that all others can learn.

It would be good if we can also advise women on how to avoid getting breast cancer, but unfortunately, apart from prophylactic mastectomy (ie removal of normal breasts) in high risk women with known mutations of the breast cancer genes, there are no other proven methods of preventing breast cancer.

Learn how to do a breast self examination, and get every breast lump checked by a doctor.
 

There are known factors that can modify the risk of getting breast cancer.
Studies have shown that obesity (especially post-menopausal weight gain), lack of exercise, late menopause, and HRT (exceeding five years) increase breast cancer risk.

A diet rich in of soy isoflavones (eg genistein, which is known to have anti-breast cancer effects), reduces breast cancer risk.
A nutrient-dense diet made of fruits, veggies, legumes, grains and nuts reduces the risk of all cancers. 

Get every breast lump checked

My sister had Stage 3B (ie advanced) breast cancer at the time of diagnosis.
Some years back, she had a breast lump that caused much anxiety, but turned out to be benign.

So this time, when she noticed another lump on her right breast, she made the mistake of not worrying about it.
She was also wrongly assured by a Traditional Chinese Medicine sinseh, whom she had she trusted over the years, that it was not cancerous, and he had given some treatment to shrink the lump.

It was only when the lump got bigger and became painful that she confided in me.
An examination revealed an obvious lump adherent to the surrounding tissues, which was not a good sign.
I immediately sent her for mammogram, and to the breast surgeon.

Lesson #1 – Every breast lump is cancerous until proven otherwise.
While most lumps are benign, you should seek expert assessment before deciding so.

Although I am supportive of the complementary practitioners’ role in healthcare, there are situations where you should always seek medical confirmation for diagnosis, as in this case.
The doctors will examine and do ultrasound or x-ray mammogram (which detect the physical or morphological changes).

Other available methods include thermography, electrical impedance tomography and laser mammogram (which detect the functional changes caused by cancerous cells).
If necessary, a biopsy will be done. 

Nutrition support is important

Her mammogram was consistent with breast cancer, and biopsy confirmed infiltrating ductal carcinoma.
After much discussion with the family, she decided to follow her doctors’ advice, as well as embark on a nutritional programme.
She had a modified mastectomy, followed by radiotherapy, and six courses of chemotherapy.

She was very disciplined with her nutrition – she reduced meat intake and consumed lots of freshly-made fruit juices.
She also tried several natural remedies that were claimed to be anti-cancer (eg lemon grass), and consumed various nutritional supplements.

So despite the cancer, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, until the last one month, she actually looked much healthier than she had been in the previous 20 years.
She slimmed down to her ideal weight, had better complexion, and was energetic (until the last six months when the cancer went to her lungs).
She was so well externally that many were surprised how she coped so well with the cancer and chemo.

Lesson #2 – if you have cancer, take care of your nutritional needs.
The body needs nutrients to fight the cancer, and to fight the side-effects of the cancer treatments.
Many cancer patients die of cachexia (extreme malnutrition). 

Recurrent cancers are recalcitrant

But what many probably didn’t know was that she still lost her hair, and her fingernails were blackened after the repeated chemo sessions.
Soon after the initial six courses of chemo and one year of the “smart” drug ended, the cancer came back.

The extremely expensive “smart” drug she was given was trastuzumab, which is a monoclonal antibody that targets the HER2 receptors on the breast cancer cells.

So her oncologist put her again on chemo, plus the “smart” cancer drugs.
But this time, these didn’t work.
A re-examination of her cancer cells then showed that she was not a good candidate for trastuzumab.
The first report had been inaccurate.

Other drugs were then tried, and there was some response, but internally the cancer was encroaching into her rib cage, and onto the lining of the lungs (pleura).

The other drugs she was given included bevacizumab, which is also a monoclonal antibody that prevents new blood vessel formation (anti-angiogenesis), thus preventing new cancer growth.

Back in July 2010, the US FDA had evidence that bevacizumab was not suitable for breast cancer.
In December 2010, the US FDA officially revoked its approval for the use of bevacizumab for breast cancer, saying that it is neither safe nor effective in breast cancer patients.
The available data shows that bevacizumab neither prolonged overall survival nor slowed disease progression sufficiently to outweigh the risk it presents to breast cancer patients.

Lesson #3 – If the cancer patient is not cured after the first course of chemo, she is unlikely to be cured at all.
Cancer cells which are resistant to the first chemo are most likely resistant to further chemo.
Although each subsequent chemo may drastically reduce the number of cancer cells, the tough resistant ones will multiply and manifest their presence soon enough.

Lesson #4 – Before agreeing to expensive drugs, be sure that the lab reports are accurate, and be sure that the drugs are safe and effective as claimed. 

Rapid deterioration of end-stage cancer

Until the last six months of her life, my sister was relatively well, which means she had about two years of reasonably “good quality” life.
Then she started to have chronic coughs.

At first, she still managed to do her normal chores, but she gradually deteriorated, and became breathless easily.
A pleural effusion (fluid in the space covering the lungs) was diagnosed, but the first attempt to drain the fluid failed to relieve her symptoms.

At this time, the family considered bringing her to China to try the latest treatments being done there, as the doctors here could not do anything more to treat her cancer.
Doctors in China are allowed to give treatments which are considered experimental elsewhere, and therefore not available to the public.

Unfortunately, while the planning was being done, her condition got really bad.
Exactly one month before her death, she had to be admitted to the hospital, and had permanent drainage tubes inserted into both sides of the rib cage, and she required the oxygen mask continuously.
The doctors also decided that she could have palliative care only, with no further active treatment.
After one whole month of suffering, she died.

My sister died because the cancer spread to a vital organ – her lungs.
There was copious pleural effusion that repeated and even continuous drainage could not solve.
The effusion meant that her lungs gradually collapsed.

With the reduced oxygen supply, the heart had to work harder, and soon it also succumbed.
Although there were discussions to attempt surgery to seal the pleural cavity (thus preventing the formation of the effusion), by that time, her poor general condition made any major surgery unsafe.

Lesson #5 – If you plan to have treatment overseas, do so when you are still reasonably well, because there will be the added problems of being fit for long-distance travel, and having adequate assistance in a foreign land. 

What about complementary therapy?

Some people asked me why I allowed my own sister to undergo chemo, when I am so critical of it?
The answer is that I never interfere with a patient’s decision.
I only remind them of the facts I know, and that while some cancer patients have recovered through various types of nutritional and complementary therapies, the latter lack sufficient scientific evidence, while chemotherapy is backed by many scientific studies.

What is important is that whatever their decision, they need adequate nutritional support to survive the cancer, and to withstand the chemo.

What about nutritional therapy – since I had written about certain nutritional therapies that had helped some cases?
Well, cancer nutritional therapies are also expensive, and are usually taken by patients who refuse chemo, or only after they have completed chemo (some oncologists also dissuade them from having concurrent therapy as the nutritional therapy may interfere with the chemo).

I have also been asked why didn’t I help her with qigong?
Actually she did learn qigong, but she was too busy to practise it enough to hope for recovery through it.
Those who recovered through qigong did so after intensive and consistent practice (my advice is to start with four hours a day if possible).
Even though recovery is not guaranteed, it is possible.

My only regret is that I didn’t have the opportunity to get her to try herbal medicine, as she was already trying so many things suggested by many people, and adding another therapy would certainly be overdoing it.

In conclusion, both conventional medicine and complementary therapies still do not have satisfactory answers for cancer.
For the sake of the cancer patients (and many more who will get cancer in future), both sides should work together.
A holistic, integrated approach is more likely to enable us to find the elusive solution.

With that in mind, I invite readers to attend the 1st Malaysian International Conference on Holistic Healing for Cancer, to be held in Petaling Jaya on June 18.
It is organised by Cansurvive, a non-profit organisation that provides guidance and support to cancer patients, their families and friends.
Admission is free, but you must pre-register.
Please go to www.cansurvive.org.my for details. 

Dr Amir Farid Isahak is a medical specialist who practises holistic, aesthetic and anti-ageing medicine. 
He is a qigong master and founder of SuperQigong. 
For further information, e-mail starhealth@thestar.com.my. 
The views expressed are those of the writer and readers are advised to always consult expert advice before undertaking any changes to their lifestyles. 
The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. 
The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.

Source: The Star - June 12, 2011

The Maid - 'Deadly' Test To Make A Living

Family of Dead Indonesian Maid in Shock 
Melisa Kok

Singapore. The family members of the Indonesian woman, who took her own life after failing an entry test for maids thrice, have buried her in their home town of Kluwan in Central Java. But they are still in shock over their loss.

Sulastri Wardoyo, 26, had hanged herself at the maid hostel where she was staying last Saturday, after failing three times to pass a test that would have let her work here. (ST Photo)

Sulastri Wardoyo, a married 26-year-old mother of one, had hanged herself in a shower stall in a maid hostel here on May 28. She died in hospital a few days later.

Her husband, who gave his name only as Sudarsono, told The Straits Times in a telephone interview: 'Up to today, we don't believe she committed suicide. She was a strong woman; she wouldn't do something like that.'

The 27-year-old farmer had been told on May 31 by his wife's Indonesian recruiter that she had been hospitalized, and then told the next day that she had died.

Her body was flown back last Friday and buried on the same day.

It is believed that Sulastri became despondent when she failed to clear the written English test of literacy and numeracy skills.

All newly arrived maids have to pass the test within three days of their arrival, among other requirements, before they are cleared to work in Singapore.

If they fail it, they are sent home.

Sudarsono said there were no problems at home. He described his late wife as a strong-hearted woman who was very close to her family and ever ready to help her friends.

'While being trained at the training centre before she went to Singapore, she called us every Saturday and Sunday to ask how we were doing. She was also supportive of her friends who were also undergoing training with her at the centre,' he said.

Indonesians looking to become maids in Singapore for the first time undergo around three months of training, which covers areas such as spoken English and performing household chores.

Sudarsono said his wife did not face difficulties during her training, but added that they had not been in touch since her arrival here.

Their daughter, 11/2-year-old Afeka Fapeana Kusumu Dewi, is now being cared for by  Sulastri's parents.

The child misses her mother, said Sudarsono. 'She cries all the time, asking, 'Where is mother?' She is confused.'

He said his wife had borrowed about 7 million rupiah (S$1,000) from relatives to come to Singapore to work.

When asked if he had to pay the money back, he said: 'We discussed it as a family. They understand.'

He said he is not sure who will have to foot his wife's hospital bills, but added matter-of-factly: 'Right now, I think it's my responsibility.'

Bridget Tan, president of the Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics, said she and a few representatives of the migrant worker welfare group will visit Sudarsono and his family next week with an offer of assistance.

She added that she was also looking to start a public donation drive to raise funds for Sulastri's family.

The Indonesian woman's death has turned the spotlight on the entry test for foreign domestic workers, with many maid agencies and employers calling for it to be either reviewed or scrapped.

The Manpower Ministry said on Monday that it is reviewing the test, following feedback it has received over the last few months.

Source: The Jakarta Globe - Wednesday, June 8, 2011

******

Officials on Friday vowed to review training programs for migrant workers as news reached the country that Sulastri Wardoyo had attempted suicide and died in the hospital.

Asia-Pacific director for protection at the National Board for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers (BNP2RKI), Sadono, said the state would ensure that workers were prepared for life abroad before approving their permits.

Aside from language skills, Sulastri’s case highlighted the need to prepare workers mentally for the stresses of life abroad.

Workers who have not completed their training cannot be placed in any country to avoid any problem over the lack of skills or language training.

Sulastri was housed by employment agency Budget Maid in a hostel, in north of Singapore.

She took the Foreign Domestic Worker Entry Test on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but failed every time.

Staff claimed that she had been depressed over her trice failure in the English-language, preventing her from working in the city-state. 

She then tried to commit suicide by hanging herself in a shower cubicle at the maid hostel where she was staying on Saturday. 

After she was found, staff cut the rope used to hang herself.

Her heart stopped three times as paramedics tried to resuscitate her.

She was then admitted to intensive care at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital since Saturday after the attempted suicide.

She was said to have suffered brain damage after scanning, and passed away last Wednesday, after being confined in intensive care.

Severe brain damage can occur when the brain is deprived of oxygen for more than two minutes and such patients would be in a comatose state and can have difficulty breathing.

The Indonesian government was urged to find out why Sulastri failed the test.

It is important too, for the government to craft pro-training policies, and national discussion is needed as it acknowledge that training programs are still weak.

The government needs to evaluate the migrant-worker training system locally.

It would even be better if the government will also be involved in giving training to the migrant workers to improve the quality of the workers sent abroad.

For now, the government requires private recruitment agencies to give preparation courses and teaches skills for workers and state bodies.

But the state is encouraged not to depend on recruiters to provide quality instruction.

Executive director of Migrant Care, Anis Hidayah, needs the Indonesian government to “tighten supervision” of placement agencies and evaluate the preparations provided by these agencies.

She added, migrant workers’ readiness should be measured by their ability to speak the language of their employer country, their completion of administrative requirements and the skills they need for the job.

****** 

Singapore Entry Test for Maids 'Too Difficult' 
Elizabeth Soh 

Singapore. About 50 maids sat the test - and only five passed.

That was the dismal result yesterday when the latest batch of newly arrived maids took the Foreign Domestic Worker Entry Test.

They must pass the test before they can work here, and are given three tries, failing which they must leave Singapore. But they can come back to retake the test.

Last Saturday, an Indonesian maid, who was said to be depressed after failing the test three times, tried to hang herself.

Every weekday, about 80 maids take the test in batches at the Mountbatten office of Grace Management, which has been contracted by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to conduct the tests.

The test was introduced in 2005 as part of measures by MOM to improve the literacy and numeracy skills of maids here. In 2009, the questions were revised following an MOM review.

Maids have 30 minutes to answer 40 multiple choice questions in English. The questions test their understanding of English as well as in areas like household chores, budgeting and childcare.

At the centre yesterday, the mix of Indonesian, Filipino and Myanmar maids looked nervous while waiting for their results. Some were already crying while others clutched well-thumbed folders containing sheets of sample questions and answers that they had studied.

Maids awaiting the results of the entry test yesterday. They must pass the test before they can work here, and are given three tries, failing which they must leave Singapore. MOM says the test has helped to ensure that more mature and literate maids come here. (ST Photo/Wang Huifen)

The results were out within half an hour and, according to the agents there, all except five maids failed. It was the second or third attempt for most.

MOM has said the passing rate for the test has consistently been 95 per cent. But agents said that based on what they have observed, the rate is much lower.

'Each day, at least half will fail,' said an agent who was at the centre. 'Some are taking the test for the 20th time. They will just keep trying because the cost is too much for them to give up.'

Filipino and Sri Lankan maids are repatriated if they fail and have to face the disappointment of families, who often have to sell their cattle or homes to pay for them to come here.

Most Indonesian maids are sent to Batam to be retrained before they take the ferry back - often at their own expense - to try again. Almost all owe at least $1,000 to their agents back home.

Myanmar maid Bawk Nu, 23, was one of the few who cleared the test yesterday. It was her first attempt. 'I was not confident of passing, I was so scared,' she said in a mix of English and Mandarin. 'I'm very happy I can be a maid now.'

Twenty employment agencies interviewed said the passing rates ranged from 60 per cent for Myanmar and Indonesian maids to 90 per cent for Filipino ones.

Filipino maid Felicita Fernandez, 41, started to cry 10 minutes before the results were out. She was taking the test for the third time. 'If I fail this time, I will have to go back to the Philippines,' said the mother of four. 'I have no money and I will now owe more.'

Unfortunately, she failed.

About 10 maids interviewed at the centre said they did not understand most of the questions. While most were able to read them, they did not understand the content.

'I tikam the paper,' said Indonesian maid Sumiyati, 23, referring to how she made wild guesses. She showed how she circled the answers randomly.

Employment agencies said the test became too tough after it was revised. A common complaint was that it now features far fewer illustrations and pictures.

Peter Chan of Javamaids said: 'Passing the entry test also does not mean that they can converse in English. And no matter how much we train the girls in other areas like cooking, it's useless if they can't pass the test.'

Suhaila Musao of Yathrib Services said: 'The real value in the training is the practical lessons like ironing and cooking. But the maids are so frustrated and pressured about the test that they cannot focus.'

An MOM spokesman said the test has helped ensure that more mature and literate maids come to Singapore. It is conducted in English because public signs and labels are generally in that language.

Several employers said that while an entry test was important, what was more useful than a maid's ability to speak English were skills like being able to look after the elderly and children and cook basic meals.

'I want a maid with a good learning attitude and good hygiene, who can cook and take care of my family,' said marketing executive Josephine Teo, 54.

'Speaking English is a plus, but also something she can learn over time.'

Source: The Jakarta Globe - June 2, 2011

****** 

MOM Reviewing Effectives Of Entry Test For Maids

WE REFER to recent letters and articles in The Straits Times on the entry test for first-time foreign domestic workers (FDWs), following the tragic demise of Ms Sulastri Wardoyo.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) introduced the entry test in 2005 as part of a package of measures to ensure first-time FDWs are able to adapt to working and living in Singapore.
The entry test was thus designed to ensure that they possess basic numeracy and literacy skills. It also helps ascertain the ability of FDWs to understand basic safety instructions, as most of them will be working in a highly urbanised environment for the first time.
This is important, both for the safety of the FDW as well as the young children and the elderly she may be taking care of.
Contrary to suggestions by some employment agencies, MOM has not made the entry test more difficult in recent months or years. It is also inaccurate to draw conclusions about the passing rate from a single test session, as your newspaper did ('Entry test for maids 'too difficult''; last Thursday).
In fact, close to 95 per cent of first-time FDWs pass the test. To better assess whether a potential FDW can pass the entry test, employment agencies may use the sample test questions available on MOM's website.
The ministry has been receiving suggestions and ideas on the entry test in recent months, in part due to policy changes in the FDW source countries. MOM is reviewing the effectiveness of the entry test to ensure it remains relevant, while taking into consideration the feedback received.
We will work with key stakeholders as part of the review. Members of the public can e-mail suggestions and views to mom_fmmd@mom.gov.sg
Farah Abdul Rahim (Ms)
Director, Corporate Communications
Ministry of Manpower

Source: Asia One - Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Maid - Unholy Acts In The Holiest Place (13)

Daring Escape (3)

Al-Jazirah newspaper reported, on May 18, police arrested and questioned three Indonesians, following the discovery of a body of an Indonesian maid near a wedding hall in Al-Naseem district a week earlier.

The woman had called the police before her death.
They traced the call made by the Indonesian maid in her 30s.

She was trying to escape from her sponsor by climbing down through the window of a third floor apartment.
The woman fell and suffered serious head injuries.

Three Indonesian men then took her home where she died.
The men panicked, and they then dumped her body near the wedding hall.

******

(Okaz photo)
Another Indonesian housemaid had her life shortened in the first Thursday on December 2010.
She met death from a fall through the window of a third-floor apartment in Jeddah’s Al-Safa District.

Owner of the apartment told Okaz/ Saudi Gazette the housemaid had escaped from her original sponsor in Hail.
The maid absconded from her employer in the northwestern town of Hail.
She then worked for the owner of the apartment in Jeddah.

She tried to escape when she learned that her former employer had traced her whereabout.
He was on his way to fetch her home.
The maid’s sponsor had earlier contacted the owner of the apartment in Hail, asking him to hold to her while waiting for his arrival.

But the maid upon learning her original sponsor would come and get her, she tried escaping from him using a rope made from knotted clothes.
She fell to the ground and instantly died.

The operations room of a police station in Northern Jeddah received a report about the incident.
Police found the woman’s body lying in a pool of blood.
The body was then transferred to the Forensic Medicine Administration to determine other injuries other than those caused by the fall.

An official letter will then be sent to her country’s consulate in preparation for her burial.

******

A 29-year-old Indonesian maid was only into her third month with her sponsor before she decided to jump from the employer's third floor home in the Al-Kakiya district of Makkah last December 23.

She was trying to escape to work illegally elsewhere but ended up in intensive care unit suffering from fractured bones and internal bleeding.

******

A driver offered a man of recruiting a new maid through illegal channel after his helper disappeared several week earlier.

But the man began to suspect the driver's activities.
The driver was under his observation.
To his surprise, he saw his former maid enter the drivers premises opposite his own home.

Okaz/SG reported the driver confessed to police that he had tempted the man's housemaid away from her employer.
She was promised better and more lucrative work.

The driver was then under detention for helping her to flee and for giving her shelter.
The woman was arrested in the last week of August.

******

Maid Leads Police To Liquor Den 
By MD RASOOLDEEN 

RIYADH: The arrest of a runaway housemaid led Riyadh police on Monday to a gang of criminals who were distilling liquor in Riyadh’s Sultana district.

The woman was stopped by police and questioned about her legal status.
They learned that she was a runaway maid who fled her sponsor five months ago.
According to police, the maid then fell prey to a group of men who had offered her a job with benefits, including an annual home-visit plane ticket.
But instead of employing her as a maid, the gang sexually exploited the woman.
“I had no choice except to give in for their pleasure since they threatened to take me to the police if I disagreed,” the maid is alleged to have told the police.
The maid led police to the location where they found six barrels of liquor, three small gas cylinders and three single burner cooker — all equipment used to distill fermented liquid into spirits.
The woman and an unreported number of men involved in the gang were detained.

Source: Arab News - April 29, 2010

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Christine, a 26-year-old woman from Kenya.arrived in Saudi Arabia in 2009 at Jeddah’s international airport.

She obtained her work visa at the Saudi embassy in Nairobi, where she was promised a job as a children’s English teacher.

She arrived with seven other women, all in the same situation as she was.
Her "sponsor" came to pick her up at the airport.
He was accompanied by his wife and mother-in-law.
They told her that, for the time being, she would be teaching English to their own children.
But she quickly realised that she had been tricked.
Instead of taking her to their home, she went to the home of friends of theirs, where several Kenyans were already working as maids.
There, they removed her passport and cell phone (all her contact numbers in it), saying they would be returned the day she return home.
Then she was sent to work in the sponsor's mother-in-law’s home.
There, she met another Kenyan woman who had been working as a maid for two months.
She warned Christine of what lay ahead.
One month later, she was sent back to her main employer’s home.
There began a truly horrible period that lasted around four months.
She slept in a tiny, cramped room with a thin, hard mattress on the floor.
She had to ask for permission to eat.
She worked like crazy, doing all of the housework, from ten in the morning to five or six the next morning non-stop.
She wasn’t allowed to call home for two months.
When she finally did, she learned that her father was very ill and had been hospitalised.
She asked her employer – to whom she was not supposed to be allowed to talk to – if he could pay her salary so that she could return home to see her father.
She hadn’t been paid anything so far – her monthly salary was supposed to be of SR800.
But the employer and his wife refused, going so far as to tell her that, even if her father did pass away, it wouldn’t be too serious!
That’s when she understood that her only chance would be to run away.
Once out of the house, she took a taxi that brought her to the Guinean consulate.
She had a lot of trouble getting officials there to understand what was going, given that she only speak English. She finally ended up waiting for two months in the consulate’s courtyard.
Finally, she met Mohamed, 27, born in Africa but lives in Saudi Arabia...

Continue reading ....:

http://habarizanyumbani.jambonewspot.com/2010/09/08/runaway-kenyan-maid-describes-saudi-ordeal-i-worked-day-and-night-and-was-never-paid/ 

The Maid - Unholy Acts In The Holiest Place (11)

Daring Escape

A newly arrived Asian housemaid, in her 20s, had a fall three days ago, from the third floor of a residential building in Alkhobar, eastern town of Damman, Saudi Arabia.

She made the run away attempt from the seventh floor apartment through a kitchen window.
She then clung to pipes stuck to the building and started to slide down.
Upon reaching the third floor, the pipes collapsed due to her weight and she hit the ground, where she met the fatal fall.
Arab News reported she was rushed to a hospital with serious injuries but later died at the hospital.

******

Another death fall befell on a housemaid in her 40s, in an attempt to flee her sponsor's house in Makkah.

She was trying to escape through sanitary pipes along with her personal belongings.
Okaz / Saudi Gazzette reported the “homesick” housemaid arrived in the Kingdom two months ago in March, only to find death the next month, in the second week of April.

The housemaid suffered multiple fractures of her arms and legs.
She suffered from brain hemorrhage too, which caused her death.

******

Early this year, January 12, Arabic language daily Almadina reported yet another Indonesian housemaid's death.

The female migrant worker sneaked through the bathroom’s window in an attempt to flee her employer.
She went up to the roof of the the fourth floor building in the central town of Makkah.
Once there, she found a rope, dangled it down to reach the ground.
She then tried to climb down using the rope, but lost her balance and plunged down.

The maid laid on the ground for nearly 15 minutes before she died.

She was found by residents who were leaving a mosque after prayers.

****** 

Photo: ist

PT Aji Ayahbunda Sejati (AAS), flew then 19-year old Armayeh binti Sanuri, from Teluk Lerang, Kuala Mandor, in the district of Kuala Mandor, Pontianak, West Kalimantan, to Saudi Arabia.

She started working for the family of Hasim Ahmad Ali Bader Saeni and Madam Hanan Hasim in Madinah on March 24, 2009.

Armayeh admitted of receiving almost daily abuse and mistreatment from her female employer since the third month into her job.

Wounds and pus on her head.

Her head was often stepped on.

She suffered infectious ears, and were almost torn-like.

She was poured hot water too.

She could bear no longer. 

She seized the opportunity to flee from her working place when the door was not locked.

With wounds all over, she fled on January 26 at 3.30pm.

A neighbour, another Saudi citizen, who happened to spot her critical plight, helped to rush her to Al Ansar Hospital in Madinah at 10pm.

The medical staff immediately called the Indonesian Consulate General.
The Indonesian Consulate has agreements with some Saudi hospitals to notify the embassy or consulate, should an Indonesian national be admitted.

Armayeh's serious condition led her hospital stay transferred to King Fahad Hospital in Jeddah.
She underwent plastic surgery performed by team from King Abdullah Hospital at 1am.
She is currently, still receiving treatment.

Her female employer, Madam Hanan Hasin had been arrested.
Before the arrest was made, her employer visited Armayeh at the hospital.
The girl was offered SR18,000 (Rp 52.9 million) for her change of statement.
The offer was flatly turned down.

Although her salary is SR800 per month, she had just sent home SR6.000 Riyal (Rp 14,3 million) to her parents, during her 23 months stint in the Kingdom.

PT Aji Ayahbunda Sejati (AAS), who made Armayeh's presence possible in Saudi Arabia, bear full responsibility of the girl's welfare.

Her family was provided initial financial assistance of Rp 25 million (SR10,500), with insurance of Rp 100 million yet to receive.

PT Aji Ayah Bunda Sejati brought the parents of now 20-year old Armayeh binti Sanuri, to Saudi Arabia to see first hand of their daughter's condition.
The company provides their needs while in Saudi.

****** 

From Frying Pan To Fire Runaway Maids End Up In Harsher Conditions

JEDDAH: Housemaids who flee their sponsors due to bad working conditions to seek work in the black labor market often end up in a situation of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

In many cases they find themselves at the mercy of sleazy labor brokers who send them to work illegally in conditions that are little different from the legal situations, and often much worse. 
“They seize our IDs, lock us up in secluded rooms and make us live in very difficult conditions, which is no less than indentured servitude,” a maid told Arab News on condition she not be named.
Nuriyyah, an Indonesian maid who has been working for two years in Saudi Arabia, describes the situation she found herself in as “slavery” after being legally recruited and brought to the Kingdom. The wage she ended up receiving was not enough to feed her family back home.
“My sponsor often delayed my payment under the pretext that he had other pressing commitments,” she said. “I had no other choice but to flee.”
Nuriyyah said she lived in a small apartment after her escape with a large number of illegal housemaids who came for Haj or Umrah and overstayed their pilgrimage visas.  She said the man who ran the house essentially acted as an illegal-labor broker.
But what Nuriyyah discovered is that people who hire maids illegally often end up being worse than employers who seek workers through legal channels and at greater expense.  “The new employer and his wife used to beat and humiliate me all the time,” she said. “They also took my iqama. I served them for my food only.”
The maid says she has never been paid for her work. Eventually she fled her illegal employers. She ended up under the Sitteen Bridge, a congregation point for foreign laborers who have fled their sponsors in the hope they will be picked up by the police and deported.
Another Indonesian maid, who did not want to be named, said though she had been an adventurer all her life and would work hard to earn money, she had fears that she might fall victim to inhuman practices on the hands of her new employers.
“I now live in a small house with a large number of illegal African and Asian housemaids,” she said. “The brokers who distribute us among their customers do not care much for what will happen to us. They are only after money.”
She added that she was living in very difficult conditions in this house but her need for money would force her to continue.
The unidentified Indonesian housemaid said she witnessed her co-workers being beaten by merciless employers who know that illegal domestic servants are essentially hostages with few choices.
“Many housemaids had similar experiences but were finally able to make some money and go back home. In order to succeed, you have to take chances,” she said.
Commenting on the issue, spokesman for Jeddah police Col. Misfer Al-Juaid said many of the houses that accommodate runaway maids are found in the districts of Al-Bawadi, Ghulail and Kandara.
“We carry out weekly raids on such houses after identifying them,” he said. “We arrest the illegal residents, take their fingerprints before handing them over to the Passport Department for deportation.”
After these workers end up in the custody of Saudi immigration authorities, a long process for exit clearance takes place. Often these workers have no ID because their passports are with the employers from whom they fled. Saudi authorities must work with foreign missions to establish identities and check for criminal backgrounds before they can be sent home. 
Al-Juaid pointed out that an illegal worker can be exposed to more abuse than legal workers, because sponsors are aware that there is little recourse for reporting or challenging abusive situations. “The illegal housemaids bear all these inhuman treatment in order not to be caught by the passport police and sent back home,” he added.
The most common form of maid abuse is not paying salaries, followed by physical and sexual abuse. The Saudi authorities do not offer statistics of the number of abuse cases reported to them, but the problem is acute enough that labor rights activists and foreign missions – especially of Indonesia and the Philippines – maintain shelters for fleeing maids, especially women.
Supervisor of the National Society for Human Rights in Makkah province Hussain Al-Sharif described violence against housemaids as inhuman and un-Islamic.
“Just because they are paying them money, some employers will come to believe that they literally own their housemaids and they have the right to ask them to do anything,” he said.
Al-Sharif agreed with Al-Juaid, saying that illegal workers face a greater chance of being abused with impunity.
“Violence against housemaids, whether they are legal or illegal stayers, is inhuman and totally against Islam,” he added. “We completely reject such practices and deplore exploitation of any human being.”
Al-Sharif asked all employers to consider the pressing conditions that drove the housemaids to come all they way from their countries in the first place. The main reason is remittances, the money they can save up to send home to feed their children or other family members. Not paying a maid could mean a child back home goes without food, clothing or medicines.

Source: A1 Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2011

to be continued...