JP/5/BAWEAN

JP/5/BAWEAN

Bawean Island women earn more money than in Malaysia

Indra Harsaputra
The Jakarta Post/Bawean

(Part two of series of stories on Bawean Island)

In less than five minutes, Ramlah, the owner of the Medan Selera
cafe in Sangkapura district, Bawean, set out various Malay dishes
for her customer, including tarik tea, tom yam soup and Cennai
bread.

The presence of the Malay dishes on the island is not peculiar
as a good number of Bawean residents have lived and worked in the
neighboring country.

"I have been running this small restaurant for two years. I
quit my job in Malaysia as the profit for doing this are much
better for me than working as a house maid in Malaysia," said the
budding 35-year-old capitalist.

Ramlah reveals that she can profit about Rp 5 million a month
(US$500), much more in relative terms than she earned working for
someone else in Malaysia.

Working in her own country is also safer and more convenient,
she stated. She can earn more and still be close to her friends
and relatives.

"Working in Malaysia was tough, as I was often treated badly
by my master," Ramlah alleged.

Ramlah recalled one instance when she was beaten by her
employer after she broke a dish. She said that she often
experienced those kinds of situations while she worked in
Malaysia.

Chief of the Bawean Island Tourism Implementing Unit, Affandi,
explained that the people of Bawean were devout Muslims, and
since people held to their beliefs strongly, the crime rate on
the island was quite low.

He claimed that violence against women and burglary had never
occurred. The Bawean community also rejects pornography, which
they see it as something that makes women like objects. The
strong rejection on pornography is noticed on the streets.
Although many Bawean residents have worked in Malaysia and
Singapore whose societies are more open than Bawean, there are
very few pornographic VCDs or DVDs for sale on the island.

A few years ago, residents expressed objections when an
Australian they knew well wished to invite her friends and
clients to visit the island. The residents worried that the
tourists would come and wear bikinis on Bawean beach or other
things that would breach Bawean norms.

However, the Australian persuaded them that the dozens of
tourists from France and Australia would dress in a polite
manner. The Australian was true to her word and the tourists were
welcomed by residents on the island when they visited the area.

As many Bawean people have worked overseas, the rate of
divorce on the island is high. Data from the Central Statistics
Agency (BPS) revealed that in 2002, out of total 846 couples that
got married that year, 89 have already divorced.

The high rate of divorce was then attributed to distance, as
many partners are separated while working in other countries.

"The high rate of divorce has created a lot of single parents,
almost all women," said Rohma, who has chosen to remain single
after she divorced her husband recently.