Trade ties with foreigners

Frequently I read in the newspapers statements by politicians, both Indonesian and foreign, stating the need for closer industrial and trade ties between Indonesia and foreign countries. There is indeed no doubt of closer ties being necessary if Indonesia is to keep abreast of modern technology and to compete with other Asian nations.

However, if Indonesia is to succeed in attracting foreign investors and skilled foreign workers to help forge these ties, it must first develop a position of trust in the international community.

Unfortunately, there are some businessmen in Indonesia, as in other countries, who are totally unscrupulous and who see skilled workers as people to be exploited to the limit, then discarded like trash, unpaid and cheated. If Indonesia intends to attract more skilled people, it must weed out these unscrupulous businessmen and offer some measure of protection to the foreign worker.

I was one skilled foreign worker who suffered the trauma and indignity of being exploited and discarded like trash. Cheated too, out of many thousands of hard-earned dollars. I suffered the all too common, 'wall of silence' treatment.

Employed over three years ago by a Jakarta based company, I was brought to Indonesia due to my skills as an experienced tourist submarine pilot/technician. All went well for the first two years, until early 1992, when I was sacked, without notice and without payment. Over the following months, all seven of my expat colleagues suffered the same treatment, or resigned in frustration. Any attempt to contact the company was met with the "wall of silence." They refused to communicate in any way, refused to answer phone calls, or acknowledge faxes. We were forbidden to enter company property by security guards.

Certainly this technique is quite an effective way of cheating and getting rid of unwanted foreigners -- most of my colleagues gave up in disgust after a short period and left Indonesia. Few of us had enough savings to stay on.

During my time with the company, I saw them cheat not only expats, but Javanese and Balinese people as well, exploiting them ruthlessly. I saw them break Indonesian labor laws, immigration laws, and I can find no evidence of them ever having paid taxes to the Indonesian Government for myself or my colleagues. How do they get away with it?

Obviously companies like this who betray trust need weeding out and to be punished severely. They are doing great harm to Indonesia, and giving Indonesia an extremely bad reputation overseas. As an Australian, I have contacted my government and warned them of these shady dealers, giving names of all concerned, so that at least other Australians will not be cheated.

Unfortunately I cannot name the company at this time for legal reasons, as I am attempting to sue to recover my losses. This has already taken well over one year and cost a great deal of money. However, if any Government departments, such as Immigration or Tax would like to contact me, I can furnish more detailed information (Peter Robinson, P.O. Box 3401, Denpasar, Bali 80034).

PETER ROBINSON

Denpasar, Bali