Neighbors learn about reality of migrants<\/p>\n
Karim Raslan, Lawyer, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
As Dr Mahathir prepares for his two-day visit to Bali,
\nMalaysians must come to terms with the changing nature of
\nbilateral relations with Indonesia. Having emerged from the 1997
\nfinancial crisis relatively unscarred, Kuala Lumpur's current
\nlevel of confidence is at odds with theself-doubt and in-fighting
\nthat plagues Jakarta. The altered dynamic as well as the
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri's taciturn personality places
\nvirtually all the responsibility for the relationship with our
\nlargest neighbor on the Malaysians.<\/p>\n
Of course this is extremely unfair because we are then forced
\nto steer the course more carefully, avoiding the shoals and the
\nconflict. Moreover Malaysians have to realize that our growing
\nprosperity and assertiveness is creating waves around the region.<\/p>\n
Basically we're saying: \"Hey, we're not Singaporeans! We
\nunderstand human relations and diplomacy. We're the nice guys --
\nthe popular members of ASEAN. We don't lecture people or talk
\ndown to them. You love us because we're thoughtful and straight-
\ndealing. After all aren't we the practitioners of various
\n'prosper thy neighbor' policies?\"<\/p>\n
In this respect we're very outspoken about our close affinity
\nwith the Indonesians. We like to talk about our special
\nrelationship: we're serumpun (or one people). Ignoring the
\ndifferences of politics and economics we assert -- and
\nconfidently, that culture, faith and extensive family relations
\nhave linked us together inextricably.<\/p>\n
However, my experience as a frequent visitor to Indonesia has
\nforced me to come to terms with a very different image of my
\ncountry. The government's decision to take a far more rigorous
\napproach to the issue of illegal foreign workers has led to some
\nunforeseen consequences around the region.<\/p>\n
The enhanced penalties -- ranging from whipping and caning as
\nwell as the images of chaos at our crowded ports have done a
\ngreat deal to alter Indonesian perception of Malaysia. For a
\nstart, I am unsure whether we can hold ourselves out as the
\nchampions of the Third World. Instead of being viewed as a fellow
\n\"victim\" -- beaten down and abused by the white man, Malaysians
\nappear to have become one of the oppressors.<\/p>\n
As one incensed Indonesian, Rio Helmi, the photographer and
\nNGO activist says angrily: \"The way you're treating Indonesian
\nworkers is yet another example of Malaysian hypocrisy and
\ninhumanity. You've extracted all you want from them and now
\nyou're just tossing them out! This only reinforces the image of
\nMalaysians as being self-righteous and arrogant.\"<\/p>\n
Certainly the local media have been gorging on horror stories
\nabout Malaysia. A recent edition of the influential newsmagazine
\nGatra has a front cover picture of a young sarong-wearing man
\nconfined to wooden stocks by his ankle. Alongside the image are
\nthe words \"Dari Malaysia Membawa Gila\" (He was mad when he
\nreturned from Malaysia).<\/p>\n
Up until recently my experiences in Indonesia have been very
\ndifferent. Malaysia is the 'promised' land: a place of work, high
\nincomes and hope. Almost inevitably, having concluded an
\ninterview and packed away my notebook, my interlocutor will
\nhesitate and then ask haltingly: \"Pak, why don't you take me back
\nto Malaysia with you?.<\/p>\n
In Surabaya a prostitute I interviewed insisted that I hired
\nher as a servant. She declared that it was the only way she
\ncould be saved from the streets! When I seemed reluctant she
\nreassured me that she'd learn how to cook Malay food. She
\ndeclared: \"I'll go to the Padang restaurants: They'll teach me.\"<\/p>\n
In East Java in particular, everyone seems to have a brother
\nor a sister, a neighbor or a friend who's worked in Malaysia.
\nSabah, Johor and Selangor are the most popular states for
\nIndonesian workers and most have either been household servants
\nor plantation workers. However, recently I've found that I've had
\nto be firmer when talking to them. I don't want to encourage them
\nto venture abroad if the reality of working in Malaysia for
\nexample, is so fraught with danger: It just wouldn't be fair.<\/p>\n
\"No,\" I'll tell them, \"working in Malaysia isn't as easy as it
\nonce used to be.\" This silences them immediately. They know
\nexactly what I'm talking about: They've seen the images on the
\nevening television news. They've also read about the thousands of
\npanic-stricken Indonesian workers crowding into Port Kelang and
\nTawau to wait to board transport ships that will take them
\nhome.<\/p>\n
As the full impact of reality hits home, we both fall silent,
\nthinking about what we've just said to one another. And then, the
\ntone of the conversation changes slightly and the once-
\nenthusiastic prospective migrant worker will lean closer and say:
\n\"Yes, you're right. My brother's friend worked in the peninsular
\nand he was totally ripped off! He lost everything. Everyone
\nhassled him and he lost all his savings trying to leave.\"<\/p>\n
Of course, some people would argue that the sudden shift in
\ntone is inevitable. Wasn't I essentially turning them down?
\nWasn't I denying them an opportunity to live in Malaysia?
\nMalaysians must learn to handle our large, lumbering and
\nenfeebled neighbor with a degree of straight-forwardness, respect
\nand kindliness.<\/p>\n
However over the past few months after countless trips to
\nIndonesia and having traveled all over the archipelago I'm
\nbeginning to realize that our Indonesian neighbors are a good
\ndeal less committed to the idea of \"serumpun\" -- one tribe --
\nthan I at first thought.<\/p>\n
But the good humor soon fades after we've dissected the
\ndifferences between Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia,
\ncompared Ibu Megawati with Pak Mahathir and disagreed over the
\nrecent Williams Cup. Inevitable comparisons extend beyond the
\nbanal into the more sensitive. Indonesians become touchy about
\nthe ramshackle nature of their cities, the barely controlled
\nchaos that passes for order. The lawlessness and the thievery in
\nthe corporate boardrooms.<\/p>\n
The sense of embarrassment. Many are ashamed by the extent to
\nwhich their once great nation has fallen. Of course it's the more
\neducated Indonesians who are the more chastened by encounters
\nwith us. Why is KL so neat and Jakarta so chaotic? In the past
\nwhen Singapore was their only point of comparison the discrepancy
\nbetween a nation of over two hundred million and a city-state of
\nthree million made the comparison ridiculous.<\/p>\n
Somehow with Malaysia it's been different: The similarities
\nare too pronounced to be ignored. Both are majority Muslim and
\nMalay. There is a delicacy and a nuance. Have we handled our
\nrelationship as well as we could? Did we treat the Indonesians as
\nwell as we could? Is this how truly good neighbors treat one
\nanother?<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/neighbors-learn-about-reality-of-migrants-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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