Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – A group representing the interests of Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong filed a complaint on Monday with the House of Representatives ethics council against Deputy Speaker Fahri Hamzah over remarks deemed insulting.
The chief and deputy chief of LACI (Lingkaran Aku Cinta Indonesia/Circle of I Love Indonesia), Nur Halimah and Sri Martuti, who are both migrant workers, arrived from Hong Kong on Sunday evening to personally submit the complaint representing all Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong, demanding the House's ethics council investigate and punish the outspoken lawmaker for his tweet.
"It's deeply regrettable for an official like FH [Fahri Hamzah] to refer us as beggars and babu," Nur Halimah told the press, referring to a tweet in which Fahri had used babu, a derogatory term for a maid, when complaining about "rampant" illegal workers in the country, contrasting the problem with struggling Indonesian maids begging for money abroad.
Fahri later removed the post and apologized, as his tweet went viral and stirred up protest from netizens.
"We are not beggars. We are not babu. We work in Hong Kong because there is demand for our services there. We are doing a proper job and we definitely properly earn our income, which contributes to the state's foreign exchange," Nur Halimah added.
LACI is the second organization to report Fahri. On Friday, rights group Migrant Care also filed a complaint against Fahri, who is the deputy chairman of a House special team overseeing migrant workers.