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.