Delaying the crackdown

Delaying the crackdown

What if you had exhausted all the possibilities, and there was
still no way for you to make a decent living? Then, the word went
around that another country needed workers with the very skills
you had. Would you not pack up and head for greener pastures
abroad?

For so many years, millions of Indonesians have made that
decision. Though not as mobile as, say, the Indians, our nurses,
drivers, factory workers, maids and babysitters are found in many
countries, from the Netherlands to the countries of the Middle
East and in our neighboring countries -- Hong Kong, South Korea,
and of course Singapore and Malaysia.

That latter country is now in the spotlight as the latest
extension of the deadline for amnesty for illegal workers draws
nearer -- March 1, based on an agreement reached during Tuesday's
visit to Kuala Lumpur by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Old proposals were raised once again among Indonesians, such
as to stop sending "unskilled" workers to Malaysia and other
countries as it only causes problems. As expected, these
suggestions did not come from desperate people who have mouths to
feed or children to send to school; nor did they come from
plantation and industry owners who need to keep their businesses
running, or from working parents who urgently need babysitters.

The same old sentiments have been aired again and again: That
heartless Malaysian employers should be caned too, and despite
delays since last year, we should get another extension on that
deadline. Several months down the road, the whole episode will
come full circle again.

One would expect that given the tight competition for even
meager wages in Indonesia on the one hand, and the need for
foreign workers in countries hosting migrants on the other, the
mutual recognition of those needs should have become the
guidelines for policies to ensure that they are met, on terms
that are fair to both sides.

But "fair" continues to be an elusive term as exploitation is
more often than not the main feature of migrant employment, and
more so in the case of undocumented workers. Reports and studies
have shown the extent to which this "systematic" exploitation
originates in Indonesia itself, and how much of it is allowed to
continue in the host countries concerned. Weak law enforcement
against corrupt officials and labor agencies and brokers who are
bent only on making money out of people, is the key to the
problem in this instance. Worse, the new law on migrant labor
passed late last year lacks guarantees for the protection of
workers.

With the latest deadline of amnesty before deportation but
weeks away, it would be an insult to Indonesians themselves if no
tangible action, on the part of their government to honor their
share of the deal, was observed. True, we could point to faults
on the Malaysian side as well, including the many unpaid workers
working there, though figures are still hard to come by. And, as
one writer suggests, there is the business lobby in Malaysia to
consider, whose fear of the loss of productivity appears to be
weightier than considerations for the welfare of the Indonesian
workers, which has led to repeated extensions of the deadline.

A former minister of manpower once pointed to the South Korean
model, which he said has a more "persuasive" approach toward
undocumented workers compared to Malaysia's. But the history of
Indonesians seeking work in Malaysia goes further back and will
likely continue for more generations of migrants.

The labor issue is an important aspect of Indonesia-Malaysia
relations and the government needs to get its act together -- the
short time left notwithstanding -- to be seen to be doing
everything in its power, not only to show our good intentions to
maintain those neighborly ties, but to prove that it actually
appreciates the efforts of the hundreds of thousands of people
who are struggling to improve their lot, without waiting for the
realization of the campaign pledges of their leaders.