Migrant workers' woes
First of all, let us say that we must deplore the recent rioting by Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, just as we would deplore violence at home. Moreover, as Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said, Indonesians working abroad must respect the laws of the country in which they are guests -- quite fittingly adding that he hoped that the authorities in Malaysia would not generalize the issue by treating all Indonesian workers alike.
Understandably, officials in the Malaysian capital have been quite incensed by this latest incident and were quick to come out with statements and threats. After all, last Sunday's incident was not the first involving Indonesian workers in that country. Only a few days before, some 400 Indonesian migrant workers had staged a riot at a textile mill in Negeri Sembilan in protest over the arrest by Malaysian police of a number of their colleagues accused of the use or possession of drugs. Earlier still, there have been reports of rioting by people hailing from Indonesia threatened with deportation.
Viewed in that light, it is perhaps not so very surprising that officials in Kuala Lumpur, from cabinet ministers up to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, have stated that migrant workers from Indonesia would henceforth be placed last on the list of countries considered eligible for sending workers to Malaysia.
We had better not comment on some of the other remarks reportedly made either on or off the record by officials and the media in Malaysia. The threat of losing the Malaysian labor market has seemed real enough to Jakarta to prompt Manpower Minister Jacob Nuwawea to apologize to the Malaysian government for the incident and express his hope that the violence will not harm Indonesia's presence in the Malaysian labor market.
And therein lies Indonesia's tragedy. This country is too poor to feed its own people. For decades, Indonesia has been sending workers abroad for employment in fields ranging from construction and plantation work to household domestics. As of August 2000, some 370,000 Indonesians were employed in Middle Eastern countries, mainly Saudi Arabia, about 260,000 in Malaysia and some 33,000 in the United Arab Emirates. Many more are lucratively employed in other countries such as, for example, Hong Kong. This not only earns the country some much-needed additional foreign exchange, it also relieves the pressures of unemployment. According to the latest estimates, about 40 million Indonesians are currently without employment.
On average it seems correct to say that Indonesians in foreign employment earn better wages than they would at home. Still, many Indonesians find it hard living so far from their homes and families. In addition many migrant workers suffer harsh treatment from their foreign employers. There is a saying, which is well known in Indonesia and, we believe, also in Malaysia that there can be no smoke without a fire, meaning that there is a reason behind everything.
Going by that truism, perhaps, the Consortium for the Defense of Indonesian Migrant Workers (KOPBUMI) has called on Malaysian officials to act with fairness and investigate these latest incidents for the possibility of police abuse as well. Among Indonesian workers deported from Malaysia in the past, a KOPBUMI statement says, most complained of mistreatment during the process of deportation.
There is one more thing the recent riots in Malaysia have brought to light, and that is the low esteem that Indonesia currently enjoys even among its neighbors. It seems to us that there can be only one answer to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's threat to blacklist Indonesian workers in the future. That is to look for markets other than Malaysia for Indonesian workers. Better still, this nation -- the government, the legislature and everyone else -- must go all out to improve conditions so that Indonesians will no longer have to depend on the generosity of others.