Two of three locals call spouse daily

JAKARTA (JP): Two out of three Indonesians speak to their spouse on the phone every day, but six percent of them admit they seldom remember their partner's birthday, a survey found recently.

Out of the 10 Asia-Pacific economies surveyed, only the Filipinos can equal Indonesia's 66 percent score in keeping in touch every day on the phone, according to the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review weekly, which conducted the survey among 3,000 of its subscribers across the region.

The first part of the "Asia Lifestyle" survey can be found in this week's issue of the magazine. The second and third parts will be published in the Aug. 11 and Sept. 15 issues.

The survey discloses that the Indonesian respondents tied for last place with the Japanese when it comes to remembering birthdays, with six percent of each group saying they seldom remembered their spouse's birthday.

By comparison, Nury Vittachi, a senior writer of the magazine, noted that 98 percent of Filipinos claim to always or frequently remember the day.

Personality profiles in the survey also revealed affluent Indonesians are more spiritual than most people in the Asia Pacific region, and less materialistic than the average.

Vittachi, the writer of the survey, told The Jakarta Post that Indonesian respondents earn an average of US$83,000 a year, which is more than the respondents of Australia ($82,000) and Taiwan ($71,000). Indonesian household incomes are $103,000 annually, which is more than the household incomes in South Korea ($102,000).

The survey found that respondents in the Asia-Pacific economies have enjoyed a rise in household income of 35 percent in the past two years, reflecting a major shift in the dynamics of international affluence.

Christianto Wibisono, a noted researcher in Jakarta, said yesterday that he was not surprised to learn that the Indonesian respondents earn as much annual income as $83,000.

"They must be executives working in big companies," Christianto said, adding that most Indonesians, however, still live very poorly with the gap between the rich and the poor much more serious than in other countries in the region.

According to the latest official data, the income per capita in Indonesia is $645 while the minimum wage of a blue collar workers in the Jakarta area is Rp 3,800 ($1.75) per day or Rp 1,140,000 per year.

"We're less egalitarian than other countries," Christianto said, adding that the difference between an Indonesian executive's salary and a worker's wages is tremendously unfair to be compared with other countries. (09)