For greater affinity

For greater affinity

It may not have been one of the more spectacular events that
occurred during the past week, but a number of parties certainly
deserve credit for sponsoring the workshop on Indonesian customs
and traditions that was oeganized on Thursday by the Directorate
General for Industrial Relations in Jakarta. After all, little
things do mean a lot in Indonesia, where feelings and non-
rational considerations still often determine how people behave
in certain situations.

In particular, credit for excellent foresight must go to the
directorate general mentioned and to the Korean Employers
Federation (KEF), which, together with the Association of
Indonesian Employers (APINDO), sponsored the event.

The fact that South Korean business and industrial investments
take a prominent place in the Indonesian economy at present,
surely makes it worthwhile for Koreans and Indonesians to try to
bridge the cultural gap that exists between the two peoples.

According to South Korean embassy officials, Indonesia is the
second most favored destination for investments at present. The
296 South Korean projects that are now operating in this country
are worth more than US$3.6 billion, which is about 70 percent of
all South Korean investments in the ASEAN region. But while this
may seem like a most commendable situation, it seems that with
the growth of South Korea's investments here, the labor troubles
that have affected that country's industrial projects have also
increased in both number and magnitude.

The phenomenon, actually, is not an unfamiliar one. It may be
remembered that certain Japanese industrial projects were also
afflicted by a similar situation, especially during the 1970s
when Japanese investments were growing at a record pace in
Indonesia. Although purely labor problems may have at the base of
many of those conflicts, it seemed that misunderstandings
springing from cultural differences quite often also acted as the
fuel that worsened the frictions.

That may have been the reason why such seemingly simple pieces
of advice as "never give or take with your left hand", or "never
pat a person on the head" were given by speakers during
yesterday's workshop. Indeed, according to a senior official of
the Ministry of Manpower, seemingly trivial mistakes, such as
giving with the left hand, or pointing with a foot, could quite
easily be taken as an intentional affront and instigate an
industrial conflict that could be hard to end once it has
erupted.

In the final analysis, of course, it takes an effort on both
sides of a conflict to settle the problems and achieve a
harmonious relationship. Ideally, it would be wise to educate the
Indonesian workers as well to prepare them to understand, if not
accept, the cultural differences that could make themselves
apparent in any multi-racial relationship.

As the Director General for Industrial Relations, Suwarto,
remarked during the workshop, however, the relatively low level
of education of the average Indonesian industrial worker makes
this difficult to realize. For all those reasons we believe that
yesterday's workshop deserves to be taken seriously. Small as the
effort may seem, it could make the difference between conflict
and harmony in industrial relations in this country.