Malaysians are really a pampered lot. Hundreds of thousands of families, rich or poor, big or small, even those with no dependants, have maids - and sometimes more than one maid.

It seems to me having a domestic worker has become a right expected of us, that we are entitled to have maids.

But, do we really, really need maid at home? Can we cope without one?

I have four children. My youngest is 15 years old. Both my wife and are working.  I had my last maid more than 10 years ago when my youngest attended a nursery school. After much deliberation, we decided not to renew our maid's employment when the agreement expired.

This was because we found most of the chores that the maid did were really non-essential and mundane.

Worse, it made our children dependent and very, very unproductive.

I don't see why children cannot help out in the daily chores.
I don't see why a husband or wife cannot do housework. The notion that we are too tired after office work, to me, does not hold water.

We should rearrange our priorities.

Honestly, spending more than RM1,000 a month on a maid for a middle class - especially lower middle class family - is a big, big drain on financial resources.

Save your really hard-earned money and invest in something that will give you long-term returns, like a mutual fund or in property.

Think again before you renew your maid's contract. Do you really need her? Can you cope without her?

Philip Wong
Kuala Lumpur