Editor’s Note:
This article was written during one of the most challenging periods in Indonesia’s recent history, following the Asian Financial Crisis and amid significant political, economic, and social change. During that time, both Indonesians and expatriates experienced considerable uncertainty, and opinions about what was happening varied widely. The perspectives expressed here are those of the author, Aida Greenbury, based on her own experiences and observations. They should be read as a personal reflection on that unique period in Indonesia’s history rather than as a general description of expatriates or Indonesian society today.
Has the quality of expatriates working in Indonesia deteriorated? I have already suspected such is the case for quite some time.
Attending a recent event organised by one of the five-star hotels located on a famous roundabout in Jakarta; my suspicions became even stronger. The F&B manager of the hotel was playing the role of host, cashier and committee on duty during the event that night. It was an occasion where you order whatever food and drinks you want and pay when you leave. When the show started, this particular European manager was busy running around, shushing everybody to be quiet by — among other things — tapping the guests on their shoulders! He basically told us, the paying guests, to shut up in a rude manner. Unbelievable.
After the show, I paid for the food and drinks I had consumed at the cashier. I couldn’t wait to leave the place, as it was cramped and uncomfortable working my way through a narrow corridor in the crush of people. Suddenly, this manager’s hands grabbed my shoulders and shifted me to the side of the long queue!
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked him almost furiously.
“You have no receipt in your hand. You haven’t paid the bill. You have to stand aside,” he replied arrogantly in a thick Austrian accent.
As I consider myself a civilised person, I tried to calm myself down and explained to him in a very slow — but slightly menacing — tone.
“I already paid the bill, gave the money to your cashier, and — what do you know — your cashier kept the receipt. He didn’t give the receipt to me. Perhaps you’d forgotten to instruct your staff to follow your procedures?”
He didn’t reply but kept smiling to other departing guests, completely ignoring me.
Please correct me if I’m wrong. But don’t you agree that a hotel manager’s job is to represent the company and provide friendly and polite service to every client? As an expatriate manager, shouldn’t people expect him to understand basic rules of courtesy and perhaps even exceed the professional standards expected of any manager?
As I’ve written before, this was not the first time I’d encountered an ill-mannered expatriate on duty. I’ve heard plenty of similar stories. What about the self-employed expatriate businessman, so busy exporting this country’s rich natural resources that he contributes nothing to local social welfare? Or the freelance expatriate writer who constantly relies on the generosity of friends to pay his way — even the beers he drinks?
I know that rotten apples exist in every society. The number of these rude expatriates probably doesn’t exceed the number of bar-style cheap chicks among Indonesian females. But still, they are annoying — I mean the low-quality expatriates, not the chicks! Because according to the rules established by the government, every expatriate granted permission to work in Indonesia is expected to possess superior qualifications. Their role certainly shouldn’t include becoming a plague on society.
No more than ten years ago, I felt there were more expatriates who were what the Javanese call miyayeni, from the word priyayi, meaning graceful and respectful toward others. Those expatriates also seemed more willing to learn local customs and understand the many cultures that influence Indonesian society.
What is happening? Why does it seem easier nowadays to find bitter, cynical, or loud-mouthed foreigners dressed in poorly made suits complaining about our country, contributing little, and becoming part of the problem rather than the solution?
Is it true that the quality of foreign workers has deteriorated that much? Or has the quality of local attitudes changed for the worse?
I can imagine that some newly arrived expatriates were disappointed by the country’s situation, conditions, and the attitudes of certain members of Indonesian society. Rampant corruption, worsening economic conditions, political uncertainty, and social tensions certainly affected many people and altered attitudes on all sides.
Mike, a Canadian friend of mine, arrived in Jakarta last year with a big smile on his face. He had plenty of ideas for making positive changes.
A couple of months ago, I met him again.
He had become a completely different person.
The little fire in his eyes had disappeared.
When I asked why, he told me how sickened he had become by the corruption he encountered, the discrimination he believed he had experienced, and the assumption by some people that every white foreigner was wealthy and therefore a source of money or opportunity. He felt deeply disillusioned.
I also heard that during the monetary crisis, political upheaval, and outbreaks of unrest throughout Indonesia, fewer foreigners were willing to accept assignments here.
Did that mean multinational companies were sending less experienced or less qualified people instead?
The chicken or the egg?
That’s the question.
By Aida Greenbury
