25 May 2007
The Malaysian government is looking away from Indonesia when it comes to recruiting maids, just as more and more Indonesians are seeking work in countries like Singapore, Hong Kong and the Middle East.
Higher wages are the main reason cited for this shift in preferred destination, but there are other causes and motives that dissuade Indonesian migrant workers from choosing Malaysia despite its historical and cultural ties.
The love-hate relationship between the two countries, dating back to the Konfrontasi (confrontation) over Borneo in the mid-1960s, is still with us. Indonesia in its big brother mode and modern Malaysia have been clashing over migrant worker issues for years.
The New Straits Times recently reported that the significant reduction in applicants for maid positions is "a blessing in disguise for Malaysian employers". The Malaysian government is now mulling over bringing in maids from India, Laos, Nepal, Vietnam, Timor Leste, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan as alternatives.
Maids from these countries would cost between RM 400 and RM 500 (US$140) per month, no more than maids from Indonesia. Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Radzi Sheikh was quoted as saying that employment agents were "sending second- and third-class maids and we are not happy about it". Another source of unhappiness over the issue of Indonesian migrant workers stems from the common view that such workers are the main cause of the rise of crime in Malaysia.
Ominously, on the same day, the local dailies also carried a news report blaming Indonesians and Filipinos for the largest proportion of crimes committed by foreigners in the first three months of this year. Recently, however, the Malaysian police chief said less than two percent of the total crimes committed in the country in 2006 were perpetrated by foreign workers, including Indonesians.
Indonesians, on the other hand, have had just about enough of the abusive ways of the supposed "Ugly Malaysian". These stories are epitomized by that of maid Nirmala Bonat, who said she was burned and beaten on a regular basis by her employer. The case shocked Malaysians and Indonesians alike.
The controversies surrounding Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, including the denial of rightful wages by Malaysian employers, alleged victimization by police personnel and exploitation at the hands of their recruiters, have perhaps reached a boiling point in bilateral relations.
In a recent visit to Indonesia, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reassured both nations of their continuing long-standing relationship during both "good and bad times". Abdullah highlighted the fact that Malaysia was Indonesia's largest investor last year, with investments totaling $2.2 billion, and that two-way trade hit $5.9 billion last year.
Thus, silent diplomacy is now in motion. Malaysia and Indonesia are playing a tit-for-tat game over the treatment of Indonesia's pahlawan devisa (foreign exchange heroes), who collectively transmit some five billion ringgits a year back to Indonesia. Perhaps the failure of both sides to muster the political and bureaucratic will to lay out the red carpet for these Indonesian workers during Malaysia's two-decade rush for development has cost us our humanity.
The kinship that first attracted Indonesians to work in Malaysia has turned to prejudice and chauvinism, thus creating further enmity. The mechanisms, procedures and policies that were put in place to regulate these Indonesian migrant workers were grossly inadequate and at times self-defeating.
The complexities and legal loopholes that are axiomatic of bureaucracy arose not through poor design but through a failure to contemplate the issues carefully, as well as inadequate enforcement of government policies. Both Indonesian officials and Malaysian officials are guilty of this dereliction of duty.
Maids aren't the only ones who suffer. Indonesian workers who toil in construction sites doing back-breaking labor are generally treated with disdain by the Malaysian public. They are particularly blamed for the increase in serious crimes such as murders, rapes and armed robberies over the past decade.
The Malaysian public has long passed their judgment on these so called hardened individuals on account of their less fortunate backgrounds. The fact is that while there are Indonesian workers who commit crimes, there are also many who are hard-working and law-abiding; they are cognizant of the fact that they are among the weakest in society.
Incidences of rioting such as at the Nilai factory in Seremban and isolated sensational cases involving Indonesian workers cast a long shadow over all Indonesian migrants. After all, blame must be placed somewhere.
A Finance Ministry Economic report states that Malaysia is now hopeful of reducing its huge migrant workforce to less than 1.5 million people by the year 2010. It is estimated that by the year 2010, only 250,000 foreign workers will remain in the manufacturing sector, and another 200,000 in the construction sector.
Efforts are being concentrated on reducing the dependence on foreign workers through automation and the mechanization of labor-intensive industries. So, in the end, the fate of those migrant heroes who still make the perilous journey to Malaysia will be determined by the very modernity which Indonesian migrant workers have played a significant role in helping Malaysia attain.
Opinion and Editorial
Imran Imtiaz Shah Jacob, Kuala Lumpur
The writer is a Kuala Lumpur-based lawyer. He can be contacted at imran.yacob@gmail.com
