105 Indonesian, Filipina, Cambodia 'MAIDS' rescued in Locked-rooms Malaysia

The foreign women getting into an Immigration lorry in Port Klang yesterday before they were sent to a halfway house. Pic by Mohamad Naufal Mohamad Idris

HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Women duped by agency and made to work without pay

PORT KLANG: A LICENSED maid agency, which had allegedly locked up 105 foreign women, was raided by the Selangor Immigration Department in Port Klang yesterday.

The women -- 95 Indonesians, six Filipinos and four Cambodians -- were in tears when they were rescued. They recounted tales of horror about how they had been treated by the agency.

The women alleged that they had been physically abused. Some claimed they were forced to eat paper to stave off hunger pangs as they were only provided with food rations.

State Immigration director Amran Ahmad said a surveillance of the agency was initiated following a tip-off.

He said a team, formed to investigate the case, had been monitoring the agency for the past few weeks and decided to move in at 8am on Saturday.

The women, aged between 18 and 25, were found locked up in rooms at the four-storey agency in Bandar Baru Klang.

"Every morning, the women were taken in a van and delivered to various homes in the Klang Valley to do maid services.

"At the end of the day, they would be picked up and locked inside the four-storey premises," he said, adding that investigations showed the women had entered the country on social visit passes after being promised job offers.

Amran said the women had been promised a monthly salary of RM700, but had not been paid a single sen in the past six months.

Whenever the women questioned the agency about pay or living conditions, their food rations were reduced further.

Filipino Manizel Mazano, 22, said they were forced to work without pay to meet the cost of their air fares to Malaysia as well as their food and lodging.

Following the raid, 12 people were arrested, including three local men, believed to be employees of the agency.

The rest were women -- five Indonesians, three Cambodians and a Filipino -- who were supervisors of the women.

Amran said the agency owner was a Malaysian and police were looking for him to help in investigations.

The rescued women were sent to a halfway house and will be deported. (http://is.gd/zyMyK9)

New Straits Times 

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FAA level 2 lifted, PAL-Canada routes restored after 15 years; US, Europe Flight Aimed

Upon elevation to category 1: PAL plans new routes to US, Europe

National flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), a joint venture between taipan Lucio Tan and diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), is looking at flying at major cities in the US and European countries once the ban on the domestic airline is lifted by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).

PAL president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang told reporters on the sidelines of the Manila-Toronto send-off ceremony at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 2 that the airline is patiently awaiting the lifting of the Category 2 status imposed by the FAA on the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

"If Category 2 is lifted by FAA, we hope to fly to New York of course as well as major cities in Europe like London, Paris, and Rome. But we still have to patiently wait for the lifting of Category 2," Ang stressed.

The US FAA in 2008 slapped the Category 2 status on Manila due to failure to comply with safety issued preventing Philippine carriers led by PAL from expanding or mounting more flights to the US.

PAL is in talks with Cayman Airways and the government of Cayman Islands for possible joint venture arrangements to skirt the ban on domestic airlines and service the lucrative US routes.

Ang earlier confirmed ongoing talks with Cayman Airways and the Cayman Islands government.

Cayman Airways was established and started operations in 1968. It was formed following the Cayman Government's purchase of 51 percent of Cayman Brac Airways from LACSA (the Costa Rican flag carrier) and became wholly government owned in December 1977.

After 15 years, the Philippines is again linked with the North American East Coast with the launch of direct Manila-Toronto flights by PAL last Nov. 30, benefitting more than 200,000 Filipinos living in greater Toronto who plan to spend the coming Christmas holidays.

The flights from Toronto every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday would arrive in Manila before six in the morning with enough time connecting to 32 domestic and 26 international destinations.

From Manila, passengers can connect to any of PAL's five daily flights to Hong Kong, thrice daily to Singapore, twice a day to Bangkok and Seoul, once a day to Ho Chi Minh, twice a week to Bali, and many more regional routes.

Starting Jan. 16, PAL said the Toronto flights would increase to four times a week with stop-overs at Vancouver. On March 10, the service would become daily, with the addition of three non-stop flights every week.

PAL is utilizing its new, long-range Boeing 777-300ER, which seats 42 in Mabuhay Class (business) and 328 in Fiesta Class (economy), on the 15-hour, non-stop flight to Toronto.

The luxurious wide-body jet is especially designed for such inter-continental journeys.  Its two GE 90-115BL engines - the largest and most powerful ever built - can readily cover the 13,230 kilometers between the two cities non-stop.

The new service kicks off the peak Christmas travel season, one of the busiest periods in the Philippine travel calendar.

The Ontario capital would be PAL's first foray to the East Coast of North America in 15 years. Toronto is now PAL's 27th international destination and 46th overall.

PAL is in the midst of a massive refleeting program where it intends to acquire 100 new aircraft. It has purchased 65 Airbus aircraft in two separate contracts valued close to $10 billion.

Ang said the airline is still in talks with Airbus and Boeing for the acquisition of the remaining 35 aircraft. (http://is.gd/FIM3uA)

philSTAR

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