Migrant workers ad causes uproar

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Tue, October 30 2012


“Indonesian maids now on sale” advertisement leaflets found by migrant care executive director Anis Hidayat in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Sunday, have generated public outcry.

The advertisement, displayed on Anis’ Twitter account, @anishidayah, reads, “Fast and Easy application. Now your housework and cooking come easy. You can rest and relax. Deposit only RM 3,500 price RM 7,500 nett.”

“The advertisement is an insult to our workers,” Anis said as quoted by tempo.co on Monday.

The advertisement dehumanized Indonesian workers and could not be tolerated, she added.

Anis has urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar to lodge a complaint with the Malaysian government.

The Indonesian government revoked a two-year moratorium on sending migrant workers to Malaysia last year, after signing a new agreement with the Malaysian government guaranteeing the rights of Indonesian migrants workers. The head of the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), Jumhur Hidayat, also condemned the advertisement, calling it uncivilized.

Jumhur warned the Malaysian government that if it did not make efforts to have the advertisement withdrawn, the moratorium on sending workers to Malaysia could become permanent. “Indonesian workers are not goods that fulfill market demand,” he said, adding that the governments of destination countries should protect migrant workers.

Jumhur said he would immediately send a formal letter of complaint to the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia against the advertisement so that the embassy could deliver a letter of concern to the Malaysian government.