The never-ending saga

NO diplomat likes to be summoned to the Foreign Ministry. It is usually not a good thing and the call cannot be ignored.

“Of course we don’t like to be summoned to the Foreign Ministry to explain our actions or our government’s actions or get told by the host government how unhappy it is with our actions,” says an ambassador.

But for Hermono, Indonesia’s ambassador to Malaysia it was just a matter of time before he was called in to Wisma Putra. Not once but twice within a week.

Hermono (he goes by a single name) has been criticising the Malaysian government in the local media, including over the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on maids. He has not minced his words in his interviews; in a recent one with a news portal, he questioned why there are so many cases of poor treatment of Indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia but few to none in Singapore.

In January, Hermono threatened to stop sending workers, including those for the plantations and construction sectors, if Malaysia did not meet Indonesia’s demands to protect its maids.

“If we can’t agree on the MOU for our domestic workers, we will not send our workers to other sectors either,” he said in an interview on Jan 22.Since he came to Malaysia in late 2020, Hermono has made it clear his special mission is to improve the livelihoods of Indonesian migrant workers. Top of his list is the MOU on the Recruitment and Placement of Indonesian Domestic Workers.

One can understand why he is saying all this as Hermono served in the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers.

But his criticisms of Malaysia border on insulting the host government.

“This is the country’s honour. He should be summoned by Wisma Putra. How can we keep quiet?” said an observer.

There have been many occasions when ambassadors have been summoned to explain their countries’ actions, such as Chinese ambassadors for the encroachments of their country’s vessels and aircraft into Malaysian territory, or for statements unbecoming of their status as guests of the Malaysian government.

A Turkish ambassador was once summoned when he decided to grant temporary asylum to a local politician facing investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.

Indonesian ambassadors haven’t been strangers to being called up to meet Wisma Putra senior officials either, having been summoned in 2009 when vigilante squads threatened Malaysians in Jakarta over a cultural spat.

The Foreign Ministry has been monitoring Hermono’s statements to the local media and finally decided to call him in on Feb 16, when he was given a “clear message”.

Wisma Putra’s practice is largely to refrain from making public such a call, so there was no statement issued after Hermono was first summoned.

Perhaps the message was not clear enough because Hermono was again quoted by a news portal over last weekend on the treatment of Indonesian maids and he again spoke about the MOU. He was called in again on Monday to clarify his remarks. Later that evening Wisma Putra – unusually – issued a statement: “An understanding has been reached so that both parties will continue to take positive and constructive approaches in handling the issues related to the recruitment and protection of Indonesian domestic workers,” it said.

“Any issues that were raised will be channelled to the respective ministries or agencies. This is important to avoid any misunderstanding and confusion among the public,” it added.

The status of the MOU was discussed, which also includes approaches and the direction that should be taken by both parties towards finalising and concluding negotiations of the MOU in the near future.

“This is to ensure the process of recruitment of Indonesian domestic workers can be managed systematically and the issue of their protection will be given main priority based on the policies and laws enforced by both countries.

“The positive and constructive approaches involving the recruitment and protection of Indonesian domestic workers will benefit both sides and at the same time contribute towards strengthening close ties between Malaysia and Indo-nesia,” said Wisma Putra.

Whether the message was finally understood by Hermono is still up in the air.

But his message to the relevant ministries negotiating the MOU is clear. They need to be on the same page or risk prolonging the negotiation process or, worse, allow it to lapse.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakub, during his bilateral talks with Indonesia’s President, Joko Widodo, last November, said both leaders took note of the progress of the MOU and gave their commitment that the issues discussed would be resolved soon.

There have been several meetings at ministerial and official levels to do this. In January, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri K. Saravanan announced that both sides agreed to implement a pilot project with the recruitment of 10,000 domestic helpers from as early as February, and that Indonesia had also approved 10,000 workers for the plantation sector. The pilot project was expected to start a week after the MOU was to be signed on Feb 7 and Feb 8 in Bali.

Early this month, though, Saravanan was quoted in The Star as saying that the project had hit a snag as the signing of the MOU had been postponed. However, he also said most of the pressing issues had been ironed out and he was confident it would be signed by the end of this month. The latest is that the Cabinet has agreed the MOU be signed on a date jointly decided by Malaysia and Indonesia, according to Saravanan in a Bernama report.

But when exactly will that be, and what other issues have yet to be resolved?

Malaysia has certainly been consistent in churning out statement after statement on the signing of this MOU. But inconclusive statements simply give false hope to those desperate for maids.

There is nothing wrong with speaking to the media but both parties – especially the Malaysian government – need to be clearer about what is the real snag. Issues such as a minimum wage and work scope have long been on the table.

As for Hermono – an ambassador’s role is to mend fences and it is really unnecessary to be undiplomatic.