'I cleaned condo, groomed 30 cats daily without wages for years'

For Indonesian domestic worker Saifannur (not her real name), Hari Raya night was the highlight of her first two years of her employment at the home of a well-heeled Malaysian couple.

This was when she was allowed to spend an hour on the phone with her daughter and parents. But the conversation always ended with the same lie – that she would send money home.

Saifannur claimed that the couple, both of whom have the title “Dato”, had allegedly confiscated her phone and only permitted Saifannur to communicate with her family once a year, during Hari Raya.

In 2016, when the single mother, who is now 31, left Aceh in search of greener pastures in Malaysia, her daughter, who was three then, was left in her parents' care.

Speaking to Malaysiakini in a Zoom interview, Saifannur, who has since returned to Indonesia after escaping, said her daily chores involved grooming 30 Persian cats and ensuring the upkeep of the four-bedroom luxury condominium in Kuala Lumpur.

On April 18 this year, nine months after she escaped, Saifannur received less than half of the wages owed to her for the four years and six months she had...