Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
Song is about as ulu as you can possibly get in
Sarawak, and the fact that it had the antennae of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry
in Jakarta up speaks volumes about how the tentacles of Indonesians and Indonesia
reach into the deepest nooks and crannies of our country.
<P>Almost immediately
after the tragedy, The Jakarta Post reported that Indonesian Foreign Minister
Hassan Wirayuda was in communication with the Indonesian consulate-general in
Kuching about extending legal assistance to the alleged murderer, purportedly
an Indonesian national.</P><P>This was when it had not even been fully established
that the man at the centre of this tragedy was indeed of Indonesian nationality.</P><P>The
swiftness of the official Indonesian response to one of its own getting into trouble
in a foreign land was admirable, although one would have appreciated a parallel
public expression of official contrition over the loss of so many innocent Malaysian
lives, whatever the circumstances of the tragedy. If Malaysians have not yet woken
up to markedly changed political circumstances in Indonesia, let this incident
be a timely reminder.</P><P>Political competition in the republic is so keen nowadays
that any conceivable issue that can be exploited will be exploited for partisan
gain.</P><P>And there is no more sure-fire populist issue to exploit than any
perceived neglect by the Indonesian government of the country’s citizens
being "exploited" or otherwise ill-treated at the hands of foreigners.</P><P>That
Indonesia is perhaps hyper-sensitive to any real or perceived slights to itself
or its citizens is not in dispute. One only has to draw on the matter of how Indonesians
take apparently quite strong exception to being called "Indons" by Malaysians,
although many Malaysians may be surprised to learn that what they consider a perfectly
innocuous short form for the term "Indonesian" is regarded as objectionable
or even derogatory.</P><P>If a humble longhouse in deepest Sarawak can have a
violently explosive situation of an Indonesian being somehow slighted and gaining
the almost instantaneous attention of the powers-that-be in Jakarta, consider
how many more such potential situations may be multiplied across every plantation,
longhouse, kampung, town and city in Malaysia.</P><P>In any conceivable spot anywhere
in Malaysia lies the germ for a possibly disruptive diplomatic incident, pitting
two Asean neighbours against each other. It is to the credit of the residents
of the unfortunate longhouse in Song that they have been so patient and resigned
in the face of unspeakable tragedy; our two countries may not be quite as lucky
if incidents involving local Malaysians and Indonesians were to occur in other
parts of Malaysia.</P><P>It is high time we collectively wised up to the fact
that as a nation, we have become perhaps too uncomfortably and unhealthily dependent
on foreign workers, in particular Indonesian. It has gone to the extent that we
are being psychologically blackmailed by constant reminders from across the border
that we are benefiting greatly from the fruits of imported Indonesian labour,
which of course we are.</P><P>At the same time, this mind game seeks to downplay
to the Indonesians themselves that they also benefit. This has the insidious effect
of feeding into the widespread feeling among Indonesians that their workers are
exploited and even despised in Malaysia.</P><P>Conveniently downplayed also is
the fact that where exploitation does take place, more often than not it is Indonesian
labour recruitment agencies that are most guilty.</P><P>Our dependence on foreign
labour is becoming increasingly untenable, but our industries, if left to their
own devices, will not have it any other way.</P><P>The government needs to be
a lot more sensitised to the issue of foreign labour, and accordingly review policies
with consideration for a more tenable balance between economic considerations
and national security and diplomatic relations.</P><P><I>Source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/Columns/20070616081529/Article/index_html</I>
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