Jakarta-KL reaching the boiling point<\/p>\n
Hanys Salmi, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
During the past six years, bilateral Malaysia-Indonesia
\nrelations have not shown much progress. In fact, while in the
\nbusiness sector relations are picking up, in the social\/economic
\narena, the overall picture is gloomy.<\/p>\n
In Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian Prime Minister Abdulah "Pak
\nLah" Ahmad Badawi is now very busy with internal affairs while
\nreconstituting his international image from that of a foreign
\nminister to that of a Prime Minister. As a result, he does not
\nseem to have enough time to spearhead the regional initiatives
\nhis predecessor Mahathir Mohamad consistently pushed for. He
\nsimply does not have time to assess the possibility that the
\nsocial pressures building up inside his giant neighbor --
\nIndonesia -- could spill across the Strait of Malacca and disrupt
\nMalaysia's stability.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, President Megawati Soekarnoputri's shaky
\ngovernment is busy with presidential election preparations.
\nShould she be replaced, Indonesia's next leader would need to
\nspend much of his time pacifying the troubled domestic political
\nclimate and little time would be spared for streamlining
\npotential factors that could disrupt harmony in relations with
\nMalaysia.<\/p>\n
The biggest bone of contention in bilateral relations is
\nmanagement of immigrant Indonesian workers. At present, according
\nto official statistics, there are about 1.5 million foreign
\nworkers in Malaysia, some 1.2 million of whom are Indonesians. Of
\nthese, around 850,000 are illegal workers according to Malaysia's
\nversion, however in Jakarta, officials believe only 650,000 of
\nthem have entered Malaysia without proper immigration documents.<\/p>\n
This aspect of bilateral relations was not a troubling issue
\nwhen Soeharto and Mahathir were still in power. Their tough
\nstance on the need to preserve harmony in neighborly relations
\nseemed to keep such issues from becoming problems. But since they
\nleft office, the situation has changed beyond recognition.<\/p>\n
The story began to change during Megawati's term. She was seen
\nin Malaysia, and the region as a whole, as a weak leader in spite
\nof her good structural relations with the Indonesian military.
\nBut during her term, we have seen the bilateral Indonesian-
\nMalaysian relations decline in the socio-economic sector. She has
\nnot been able to set the right tone for proper management of the
\nissue of Indonesian migrant workers, who are employed in many
\nbusiness sectors on the peninsula and on Sabah.<\/p>\n
One of her administration's successes, however, has been the
\nsigning in Jakarta on May 10 of a new memorandum of understanding
\n(MOU) by her Labor and Transmigration Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea and
\nhis Malaysian counterpart Fong Chan Oan. Still, this MOU is far
\nfrom sufficient in that it does not cater to the real needs in
\nthe field.<\/p>\n
The document is too broad in content given that it does not
\nmention the aspect of legal protection of workers. It only deals
\nwith recruitment, placement and repatriation of workers at the
\nend of their contracts.<\/p>\n
In Malaysia, the government is getting tougher than it ever
\nhas been on that matter. At present, nobody can do anything to
\nhelp Indonesian illegal workers get jobs. Malaysian citizens or
\nforeigners found guilty of protecting illegal immigrants can be
\nfined 50,000 ringgit and caned six times in public or jailed for
\nfive years.<\/p>\n
But the main problems all emanate from Indonesia, not
\nMalaysia. The government in Jakarta seems to be too lenient and
\ntolerant toward brokers providing passports to would-be
\nimmigrants to Malaysia.<\/p>\n
The regional\/provincial chapters of the Indonesian
\nimmigration service are to blame for this. A good number of
\ncompanies are acting without any controls as passport brokers at
\nmany points of embarkation. Though they charge workers a good
\namount of fees to get passports, the legality of the documents
\nare always a problem, especially when the workers arrive in
\nMalaysia.<\/p>\n
In Malaysia itself, there have been mixed opinions about its
\ngiant neighbor's reform movement. Some say it is good to imitate
\nIndonesia's restless adventures, but a great majority of the
\npopulation believe that the Malaysian system is already a good
\nmodel for the region that other countries can adopt.<\/p>\n
But on the political front, there is a growing perception of
\nthe need to retain Malaysia's political identity as a truly
\nindependent nation. Against this light, Malaysia is not willing
\nto deal with the "dirt" from its neighbor's bad image on such
\nissues as the fight against terrorism.<\/p>\n
Politically therefore, Prime Minister Badawi is likely to
\ndrive Malaysia steadily along this course, and in so doing, he
\nmay not be willing to be too tolerant with Indonesia's socio-
\neconomic burden. And Indonesian politicians have to examine this
\ntrend thoroughly if they wish to turn their country into another
\nstabilizing factor in the region.<\/p>\n
Given those circumstances, Indonesia cannot expect to see
\nagain a tolerant neighbor in Malaysia as it became accustomed to
\nduring Mahathir's time.<\/p>\n
The main topic of concern in Malaysia is promotion of
\nbusiness competitiveness, instead of an over-tolerance of such
\nproduction factors as blue-collar workers for which Malaysian
\nindustries can find replacements.<\/p>\n
But because of this, a potential for fractures in bilateral
\nrelations is really great now. Frustrated with its poor manpower
\nmanagement, the Indonesian government may still hope that
\nMalaysia would forever be a good reservoir to absorb its millions
\nof unemployed citizens, who have the very minimum of skills.<\/p>\n
No, Indonesians must now learn the truth; that unless they
\nupgrade the quality of their workers, soon it will be very
\ndifficult for them to get jobs in Malaysia. In such a situation,
\nthe warmth in bilateral relations is bound to disappear and
\nsuspicion will replace it.<\/p>\n
In Malaysia, people are wondering what would happen if one of
\nthe two retired military generals running for Indonesia's
\npresidency were to win. If either of them sits in the
\npresidential chair in Jakarta, the immediate impression would be
\nthat Indonesia would have a strong leadership, perhaps quite
\nsimilar to what Soeharto exhibited for 32 years.<\/p>\n
The writer is a researcher on Indonesian issues at a Kuala
\nLumpur-based company. He can be reached at
\nhanyssalmi@malaysia.com<\/p>",
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