All smiles - The Maids are Here (Back)

It's blue skies and sunshine today in Kuala Lumpur. I hope it's going to be the same in the UK (roughly six hours behind Kuala Lumpur) especially in London and cities that are celebrating The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, 60 years of being a monarch. But I digress.

What I want to write about here is on the frontpage of The Star which says, The maids are here. Yes, maids or househelp from Indonesia are once again allowed into Malaysia after three (long) years. I said 'long' because for households or employers who need domestic help, either to help with the children, infirm spouse, parents or siblings, a wait-time of three years is a long wait. It must be such a relief to be able to get some help finally.

After Jakarta decided to lift the freeze on maids to Malaysia on Dec 1 last year, the first batch of maids arrived four days ago. In a special ceremony (must be a first in the house-help category) yesterday, 29 women from East Java were introduced to their employers. They will begin work immediately.

Indonesian maid Susiani Tukiri Suparti, 33 (second from right) leaving with her unnamed new employer (right) after going through a three-day training at the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maids Agencies shelter and training centre yesterday. — Bernama

Jeffrey Foo, president of the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies, said the maids were returning after a memorandum of understanding between Malaysia and Indonesia was signed in May last year and finalised in November. The MoU ensured the well-being of the maids, especially with regard to the payment of salary and scope of duties.

The MoU covers the following clauses, among others:

- The employer is now obliged to open a special account for the maids to remit their salary, which will be monitored to ensure there is no manipulation. The bank book will be kept by the maid to assure that the wages are being banked in.

- The duties of the maid are confined to household tasks, however as to whether to accept the additional responsibility of looking after a child or a senior citizen is entirely up to the maid. (Employers are not allowed to force a maid to look after a toddler or a senior citizen or lodge a complaint if she was found to be inefficient in carrying out the task because it is not part of her expertise.)

- A maid would get one day off a week which need not be during the weekend. Request for work on a rest-day would entail the maid being paid RM27 for the day's work in addition to her monthly salary of RM700.

The fee for hiring a maid is now RM4,511. The employer pays RM2,711 to the agent while the maid puts up RM1,800.

Foo said the fee would be revised upwards after this batch, which is subject to government approval, but the association would try to keep it below RM7,000.


Source: The Star..Maids return after three years

Man caught smoking in an AirAsia aircraft

The Star today reported about an Air Asia passenger who has been arrested at the airport in Sandakan for smoking in the toilet of the aircraft.

The 27-year-old man, who was on the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sandakan on Sunday, was caught smoking in the toilet by a flight attendant about 30 minutes before landing. Apparently, he hasn't been paying attention to the safety demonstration onboard.

The man was handed over to airport policemen shortly after the flight landed at 10am. According to the police, the case would be forwarded to the Health Department for further action.

There you have it. Some don'ts can land you in trouble. Smoking is best done in the comfort of your own home, outdoors, of course.

For your viewing pleasure, here's an AirAsia inflight safety demonstration but with a (funny) twist, sure to get every passenger sit up and pay attention.

Job Search made easy

Are you looking for a job or looking to switch jobs or helping someone find work? Help is on the way. Scroll down right to the bottom of this page where you will see a Job Search box.

This is a Careerjet search box for Job Search. What you need do is just key in the job (What) you are looking for and the location (Where) of where you would like to work. Hit 'Find' and you will get a list of jobs available in the location keyed in.

Careerjet maps an extensive selection of job offerings by listing worldwide job vacancies in one database. Traffic is driven to the original job listing website (company websites, recruitment agencies, newspapers, etc.).

Give it a try. This is a cool search tool and the job options are tremendous.

The image below is what the Search box looks like, This one is just an image so it won't work. For actual usage, you will need to go to the Job Search box at the bottom of this page. Happy searching..

Sufiah Yusof, Maths Genius

I stumbled upon this old story that was a hot topic of the day back in 2008. Remember Sufiah Yusof, the Malaysia Math genius who got into Oxford University at just age 13 and who chose to remain in the field of the oldest trade in the world, prostitution?

I remember laughing (in disbelief) back then when I read that there were people who felt that she needed rescuing and probably to drag her back to Malaysia for rehabilitation treatment!

In an interview with “News of the World”, 23-year-old Sufiah boasts “My clients love the fact that I can stimulate their minds AND their bodies … And I don’t believe my education has been wasted – in fact I usually take problem sheets with me to solve before appointments …

Read the story here..Maths Genius Sufiah enjoys Sex Career, no Regrets, FinanceTwitter

Update:
According to Wikipedia: Sufiah Yusof (born 1984) is a British mathematics prodigy originally from Malaysia. She is now working as a social worker.

A Career in Cosmetology

A career in the beauty line can be rewarding. If you are interested in cosmetics or rather beauty in general, enrolling into a cosmetology school may be something to consider.

In the U.S., Regency Beauty Institute is at the forefront of the beauty industry. Founded more than 50 years ago in Minneapolis, Regency is the fastest growing beauty school in the country. If you are in Tennessee, you could sign up at their cosmetology school in Tennessee. But if you are elsewhere. you could enroll in one of their campuses near you and there are 19 campuses all over the country.

Regency's placement relationships with salons to cruise ships and runways mean that Regency graduates will have no problem getting a job.

Looking for a Job Switch?

Most of us are in a job that does not match what we studied for but we trudge on because it puts food on the table, pays the bills and generally keep us going. Or perhaps we find that the job is not that bad afterall.

Some of us go on to widen our horizons by going back to school to learn a trade, for instance. Or we think we could do better at something else.

These days, there is a lot of career choices. If you find yourself looking at a new direction and are looking for a suitable school, there is a wide selection of technical schools available in the U.S. with disciplines from Arts & Design to Healthcare to Culinary Arts to Aviation.

Check out CollegeSurfing.com and find the school that is right for you. While you are at it, you may be interested to know the types of jobs that pay better or what you can do with the type of education you intend to sign up for.

18,270 Philadelphia Jobs Available

Malaysians can be considered lucky as there are still jobs aplenty and people are still job-hopping.

NY Times reported that in the U.S. joblessness rose in 29 states last month compared with 22 in September. Michigan had the highest jobless rate at 15.1 percent, followed by Nevada at 13 percent and Rhode Island at 12.9 percent.

However, the unemployment rate fell in 13 states, including Massachusetts, where it declined to 8.9 percent from 9.3 percent; New Hampshire, with a drop to 6.8 percent from 7.2 percent; and West Virginia, which fell to 8.5 percent from 8.9 percent.

A website I came across indicates that there are a lot of philadelphia jobs available. Maybe people should relocate to Philly for employment. It's easier said that done because there are lots of considerations to take into account when it comes to relocation.

Downtown Traffic Down

It's the weekend again and a glorious day outside, one that is a far cry from the gloominess of the past few days. One that makes you aware of the beauty of the greenery outside, the birds fluttering about among the trees, fluffy clouds in the sky. Yes, one that makes you happy to be alive!

There are lots of places I'd like to visit on a day like this though I'd need to be armed with an umbrella, a pair of good walking shoes and yes, swathed in sunblock.

If one were to go downtown these days, especially in the Chinatown area, one would notice a difference in human traffic. With job-cuts resulting in contractors, mainly foreigners, being sent home, human traffic congestion has been noticeably reduced. Many businesses have significantly reduced production, many have even seized operation. Employees most affected are those holding blue-collar jobs. I wonder if investment banker jobs are similarly affected. Maybe not as banks here are still going strong. And that is a good sign. Amen to that!

Before You Became Famous

Over lunch the other day, on the subject of the kinds of jobs that people do after graduation while waiting for their dream-job to come along, a senior co-worker shared that he sold insurance. It wasn't easy, he said.

His first clients naturally were his family members. Back then, there was no such thing as a health insurance lead. You would have to find your own lead and do a lot of networking with friends and family, and strangers alike.

What did you used to do after graduation or before you became famous. Eh?

Jobs in Marketing are Plentiful

With the current economy not showing signs of improving, more and more people are losing their jobs especially in the west. Companies here are also experiencing difficult times and those that are headquartered in the west are more affected than others. I have friends who have recently been laid off and are looking for jobs.

Here in Malaysia, there are still lots of jobs available. It is just a matter of individual job choice that vacancies are still available. There are still many jobs in marketing available as well as other jobs that may not pay as well as the former appointment but could still be enough to pay the bills and put food on the table. People just have to remember to live within their means. Probably easier said than done what with family commitments and such.

Were you headhunted?

I used to wonder how companies could get a high-level vacancy filled at such amazing speed. That was before I knew about recruiters or headhunters. Headhunters are a great bunch of professionals. They sure know their way around who's who connecting the right people for the right jobs.

One such professional headhunter outfit is A.E. Feldman Associates, Inc. They have maintained a high standard of service and commitment in the recruiting field. They have been able to connect industry-leading clients with top quality candidates and have built themselves a strong reputation. Their recruiters are experts in their respective fields which enable them to find the best fit for the job.

A.E. Feldman Associates, Inc., caters to the financial and risk management services, legal and legal support services, communications and technology, human resources consulting, and luxury products.