How come S'pore celebs not as scandalous as those in Philippines?

Compared to celebs in the Philippines, Singapore ones are tame. And thank God for that, says STOMPer Jacob, who received emails containing leaked sex videos and explicit photos involving well-known Filipino personalities.

His friends have all received it and they are naturally struck by the contrast between the behaviours of Filipino and Singaporean celebs and high society personalities.

"Compared to the Filipinos, our celebs are not involved in scandals of the same magnitude that has hit the Philippines," says Jacob. "They are better behaved and adopt low-profiles when it comes to their public lives."

“One reason”, he says, “is because our culture is more conservative than that in the Philippines. The value-system is quite different”, he points out.

One of the Filipino scandal involves beauty doctor Dr Hayden Kho and three starlets: actress Katrina Halili, Dr Maricar Reyes, as well as an unidentified woman rumoured to be a Brazillian model.

Another series of pictures and videos are those of model/actress Maui Taylor and her beau Brian Revilla, apparently the son of a Filipino politician.

Dr Hayden Kho, 28, has gained notoriety after being caught by his ex-girlfriend 53-year-old Dr Vicki Belo with sex videos of three starlets on his notebook, one of them being Katrina Halili, an actress with a voluptuous figure.

He also made similar videos with Maricar Reyes, a model and actress as well as practising doctor.

Indonesia to suspend sending domestic helpers to Malaysia

Indonesia will temporarily suspend sending domestic helpers to Malaysia amid outrage over the abuse of its nationals by their employers, the labour minister said Thursday.

"We will temporarily stop sending domestic helpers to Malaysia as we wait for the completion of a review on (the current) Memorandum of Understanding," Erman Suparno told reporters, adding the suspension was effective from Friday.

It will last at least until meetings between Indonesian and Malaysian officials in Kuala Lumpur in mid-July to discuss a new agreement on migrant workers, Suparno said.

Indonesia has proposed that domestic helpers be protected from non-payment of wages and poor conditions and be ensured of the right to days off and holidays, Suparno said.

"Domestic workers should also be able to hold on to their passports," he said.

"If our demands are not fulfilled and not guaranteed in the MoU, we will not continue (sending workers)," Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Da'i Bachtiar said.

Malaysia has no laws governing conditions for domestic workers but the government has promised to draft legislation to protect them from sexual harassment, non-payment of wages and poor conditions.

Malaysia is home to some 1.2 million documented Indonesian workers, as well as about 800,000 Indonesians working there illegally.

Cases of abuse of maids at the hands of Malaysian bosses are a frequent source of outrage in Indonesia, contributing to often prickly relations between the two countries.

A 43-year-old Malaysian woman was charged last week with causing grievous bodily harm to a 33-year-old Indonesian domestic helper by allegedly beating her with a cane and dousing her with boiling water.

A Malaysian former flight attendant was also sentenced in November to 18 years in jail for using an iron and scalding water to inflict horrific wounds on her maid.

Malaysia to look elsewhere for maids if Indonesian ban stays

Malaysia said it could turn to other neighbouring countries to recruit maids if Indonesia continues to ban its nationals from coming here to work as domestic helpers.

Indonesian labour minister Erman Suparno said Thursday his country would stop sending domestic helpers to Malaysia at least until a mid-July bilateral meeting in Kuala Lumpur to discuss a new migrant worker agreement.

It comes after a 43-year-old Malaysian woman was charged earlier this month with causing grievous bodily harm to an Indonesian woman she employed as a maid, allegedly beating her with a cane and dousing her with boiling water.

But Malaysia's human resources minister S. Subramaniam told state media late Saturday it would have been better had Indonesia explored all avenues of discussion before taking its action.

"If the decision (to temporarily ban maids) is final, then we will decide on the best option available, like looking at the possibility of getting domestic helpers from other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian) countries," he told state news agency Bernama.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak pledged earlier Saturday that tough action would be taken against anyone abusing Indonesian maids, urging employers to take greater interest in their welfare.

"We have to take stern action under the law against those who abuse maids," Najib told reporters.

Subramaniam said an average of 50 maid abuse cases were reported annually out of the 300,000 Indonesian maids working in Malaysia.

Malaysia has no laws governing the working conditions for domestic workers but has promised to draft legislation to protect them from sexual harassment, non-payment of wages and poor conditions.

About 1.2 million documented Indonesians are in Malaysia, with illegals estimated to number about 800,000.

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Malaysia says Indonesian outcry on maids due to elections

Malaysia said Monday that Indonesia's "emotional" decision to ban its nationals from coming here to work as domestic helpers was linked to the upcoming presidential elections.

Angry over the latest case of maid abuse, Indonesia last week said it would stop sending domestic helpers to Malaysia at least until a mid-July meeting in Kuala Lumpur to discuss a new migrant worker agreement.

Malaysian Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam said the abuse cases had become an issue in Indonesia due to the upcoming July 8 presidential elections, which president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is tipped to win.

"They are facing an election so some issues like this become very emotional at this time. After the elections, things might change," Subramaniam told AFP.

"But if this ban continues, we will have to look at other markets," he said, adding that the government is recruiting maids from other countries, including Muslims from the southern Philippines.

A group representing maid agencies has reportedly said that between 50,000 and 60,000 Filipino Muslim maids could be hired to fill the void following Indonesia's temporary ban.

"We welcome the Muslim Filipino maids," Subramaniam said.

"Filipino maids can come here according to the terms and conditions which their country has already signed with us, so whether it is Muslim or Christian, they can be hired to fill any gaps."

Indonesia's ban came after a 43-year-old Malaysian woman was charged earlier this month with causing grievous bodily harm against her Indonesian maid. She allegedly beat her repeatedly with a cane and scalded her with boiling water.

A Malaysian former flight attendant was also sentenced in November to 18 years in jail for using an iron and scalding water to inflict horrific wounds on her maid.

Malaysia has no laws governing working conditions for domestic workers but has promised to draft legislation to protect them from sexual harassment, non-payment of wages and poor conditions.

Malaysian officials said an average of 50 maid abuse cases were reported each year out of 300,000 Indonesian maids working here, but the Indonesian embassy here said 1,000 maids experience violence and mistreatment annually.

About 1.2 million documented Indonesians are in Malaysia, with illegals estimated to number about 800,000.

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