IN JAKARTA
TWO weeks ago, the expatriate community in Jakarta was shocked by the fatal stabbing of a Japanese couple. The culprit was allegedly their 21-year-old former gardener — whom they had recently fired — and his 18-year-old accomplice.
As patchy details surfaced about what happened to Mr Yasuo Hara, 67 and his wife Mizue, 65, who had lived in Indonesia for around 30 years, other employers began to get nervous about their own hired help.
The gardener was reportedly disgruntled at his sacking. He and his accomplice snuck into the Hara’s garage one evening and bumped into another domestic worker who tried to stop them. Apparently when Mr Hara came out to investigate the commotion, he was stabbed in the stomach. Police later found his wife in her bedroom with stab wounds.
When both men were caught, they claimed they had only intended to rob the couple and had killed them by accident.
The incident seems like an isolated one, but since the tragedy, anecdotes have surfaced of expatriate employers who worry that black magic spells will be cast on them by angry former employees.
Some sleep with their bedroom doors locked at night, knowing that current employees have keys to their homes. Others are nervous each time they travel, fearing a nasty break-in will greet them upon their return.
Indeed, managing the employer-hired help relationship is a top cause of concern for many expatriates living in Indonesia; most middle-class households have at least one domestic employee.
Some 70 per cent of Indonesia’s 113.7 million strong labour force work in the informal sector – where jobs are not permanent, sometimes menial and with few benefits.
So there is a thriving pool of cheap labour willing to become domestic workers both at home and abroad — taking on jobs as maids, drivers, gardeners and security guards. Their salaries start at around Rp300,000 (S$46) for part-time help to one or two million rupiah for full-time staff.
Employers say they have resorted to different means to ensure a good working relationship with their staff, including learning Indonesian so as to communicate better with them.
Pastor Dave Kenney, who has lived in Jakarta for 20 years, said that he had a "professional relationship" with his workers. While they get along, his workers do not eat with his family, for instance, he said.
He explained: "For example, if you are in a restaurant, you don’t ask the waiter who serves you to sit down and eat together. My workers do their job and we treat them with respect," said the 53-year-old.
But others like Mr Muhammad Mustofa said he preferred to see his maid as part of the family. "Although sometimes she gets so familiar with us that she does what she likes instead of what we expect, and that upsets us," said the university professor.
Employers appear to have the most difficulty in navigating the employer/employee relationship when it comes to making tough decisions — like firing someone.
A Spanish logistics manager told The Straits Times that she agonised over how to lay off her reckless driver last year after hearing horror stories of angry employees seeking revenge. "As much as you may have a valid reason, a dismissal is never easy as you know that the income of the entire family comes from that worker and it is not easy for them to find another job," said the 28-year-old, who did not want to be named.
In the end, she chose to sit him down and explain calmly why she was dismissing him. Luckily, "he showed no signs of anger or violence," she added.
Commenting on the tragic murder, Mr Eiki Yano, who is the Jakarta bureau chief for the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said the Hara couple had done much to promote cultural exchange programmes between Japanese and Indonesian schools. Speaking more generally, he noted that some Japanese people were not used to dealing with hired help.
"The Japanese do not usually hire maids, gardeners or guards for their homes. In Japan, we do all these things by ourselves. Therefore we don't know what it is like to employ workers, how to negotiate with them or how to let them know how we feel," he said.
In the past week, some Indonesian legislators have renewed calls for a clear labour law for Indonesian domestic workers whether they are employed locally or abroad.
This law would help employers navigate their relationship with workers, and give workers more rights, such as minimum wages and regulated working hours, said Ms Rieke Dyah Pitaloka from the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP).
For now, most domestic workers prefer working for expatriate employers in Indonesia, believing that they pay better, said sociologist Dede Utomo.
But Mr Dede believes that as Indonesia modernises further and the population becomes more educated, the "hired help" industry may not remain as large as it currently is. Being a domestic worker is already losing its shine with many among the younger generation.
"This generation of workers appreciate freedom. As a domestic worker they would hardly have holidays or free time. The family who employs them may also control them sexually by not allowing them to date," said Mr Dede, who teaches at Airlangga University in Surabaya.