MS NG MAE LING: 'Mr Paul Jacob suggested that instead of hiring maids, Singaporeans should resort to alternatives like flexible work arrangements, childcare services and part-time help. Part-time help alone can cost up to $800 per week if a local domestic help comes in three times a week, for four hours per session to cook and clean. Then there's childcare fees for my two children. The sums do not add up...unless one resorts to cheap but unreliable and illegal part-timers.

CALL FOR TOUGHER PROSECUTION

'Surely, the ministry can improve on barely 6 per cent.'

MR YAP SWEE HOO, who feels that the Manpower Ministry should come down harder on abusive employers. There is a disproportionate number of cases of maid abuse reported compared with the number of employers prosecuted, he contends, citing figures from a report ('More reporting cases of maids in danger, April 21). 'Four cases of maid abuse a month works out to 96 in the past two years,' he says, but only six employers, or only about 6 per cent, were prosecuted over the same period.

CHECK BEFORE CRITICISING

'Survey former maids who worked in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Middle East before concluding that we fare badly.'

MADAM FIONA TENG, referring to reports that maids prefer to work elsewhere for better pay and conditions: 'Why are Indonesians and Filipinas returning here after trying out Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan? My Indonesian maid who's worked in Hong Kong tells me that typically, maids must find their own quarters. They wake up at 5am to reach their employers' home by 6am. They foot their own medical bills. Their wages include payment for days off, so their pay is cut if they take their rest days.'

WHY THE QUARREL OVER DAYS OFF?

'There is no law requiring a day off in Indonesia, India or the Middle East, so why are we being harassed?'

MS PUNAM DOGRA, a mother of three, aged six, four and one: 'In Dubai, maids work for years without a day off. Do maids get a day off in their respective countries? My business friends in Jakarta have maids who are paid about S$50 to S$100 a month, with no day off. They can phone home only during Hari Raya Aidilfitri. If working Indonesians in Indonesia can relax during their weekends, why can't working Singaporeans enlist their maids' help so that they can enjoy their weekends too? Maids are here for only a few years to make money and return home to a better life. Each night, my maid sleeps for eight hours whereas I sleep no more than five. Most Singaporeans are good employers. I respect, feed and treat my maids well. They are a part of my family. Just because we are law abiding and prefer to go about our lives quietly and peacefully, does not mean that people should exploit us.'