KUALA LUMPUR: For the past six years, cleaner Wati has been celebrating Hari Raya in Malaysia instead of returning to Indonesia.
The expensive flight tickets and an unfavourable exchange rate were a deterrent to some Indonesians like Wati.
The 46-year-old said the flight tickets, which were unaffordable to her, saw her marking the festivities here for the past six years.
“I always celebrate it with my husband, who works in the construction sector here.
“We have a 16-year-old son back home, but flight ticket prices make it difficult for us to travel back that often,” she said when met on her off day here.
However, she says there is a silver lining to celebrating the festivities here.
“I get to start work very soon, which means more earnings for me. Usually, I take about three days off, but my employers always use my services following that and pay me well too,” said Wati, who is from Kupang, Indonesia.
A construction worker who goes by the name Asmawi said the recent weakening rupiah had dashed his hopes of travelling home.
“I usually go back once every three years to celebrate Hari Raya with my family, but finances are a bigger issue this year. Flight tickets are also expensive,” he said.
Asmawi, 43, said he has resorted to planning a celebration with his friends and local community here instead.
Another construction worker who goes by Herman cited the weak currency as his reason for not going home this year.
“However, I can get back to work really fast here, which allows me to earn more. Hopefully, I can travel back next year no matter the situation,” said the 38-year-old.
It has been reported that the Indonesian rupiah plummeted to its weakest since the Asian financial crisis nearly three decades ago.
The rupiah weakened as much as 0.5% to 16,640 per US dollar, the weakest since the lifetime low reached in June 1998 during the Asian financial crisis.
Despite that, it managed to recoup some lost ground after intervention by the Indonesian central bank.
