Hong Kong migrant workers fly to Jakarta to report lawmaker Fahri Hamzah to Ethics Council for “babu” remark

House of Representatives (DPR) deputy chairman Fahri Hamzah, who heads the DPR’s migrant workers task force, may face real consequences for using a controversial word that is seen as insulting to Indonesian migrant workers.

Last week, Fahri was heavily criticized for a tweet in which he said one of Indonesia’s problems was that “The nation’s children beg by becoming babu (maids) in other people’s countries, while foreign workers are rampant [in Indonesia].”

“Babu” is considered a derogatory term for maid in Bahasa Indonesia, and Fahri received so much criticism from various groups and individuals that he deleted the tweet and apologized for it afterwards.

But one group that’s been especially vocal in condemning Fahri is Lingkaran Aku Cinta Indonesia (LACI), a coalition of 55 Indonesian migrant workers’ groups based in Hong Kong – and they don’t seem to be content with just an apology.

The group sent two representatives to Jakarta in order to officially report Fahri to the DPR’s Ethics Council this morning, in the hopes that the lawmaker would be given disciplinary sanctions. The group previously called on Fahri to be dismissed from the DPR.

In addition, the LACI representatives are also going to appeal to the DPR to pass Bill no. 39 of 2004 on the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers, which has been stuck in legislative limbo with the DPR since 2010.

“We hope that our intention can create better protection for Indonesian migrant workers,” said LACI head Nur Halimah, who was one of the two LACI representatives sent to Jakarta, as quoted by Kompas yesterday.

Nur also told Kompas that members of LACI pooled money together to send their two representatives to Jakarta.



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