Indonesian and Malaysian Relations

It seems that the Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia has a few issues with the manner in which the Indonesian press cover Malaysia. Specifically, the issue is that the Indonesian press are, more often than not, portraying Malaysia in a negative light.

The focus of much of the Indonesian media when it comes to Malaysia relates to abuse. The abuse of Indonesian migrant workers, and more recently of the social-climbing starlet wanna be, Manohara Odelia Pinot.

The Ambassador's beef is that violence towards Indonesian migrant workers does not only happen in Malaysia. This is true. The Ambassador is right in pointing out that violence against Indonesia's migrant workers also occurs in Saudi Arabia and even in Indonesia before the prospective migrant workers get a chance to be abused overseas. This hardly seems like a viable excuse to cut Malaysia some slack.

The Ambassador, in essence, states that it is not Malaysian government policy to allow Indonesia's migrant workers to be abused on arrival in Malaysia or for the course of their working placement. This would seem to be a no-brainer, as if it was a government policy then the media coverage would undoubtedly be even more negative than it is now.

According to the Ambassador, anyone who is alleged to have abused someone, Indonesian migrant workers included, would be charged and prosecuted, and if convicted punished to the full extent permissible under Malaysian law.

The reason this is an issue is that Indonesia has ceased sending migrant workers to Malaysia until the issues relating to abuse are more fully resolved, particularly with respect to protections afforded to vulnerable migrant workers. A deal on this matter seems far from assured at the present point in time.

However, where it gets really interesting is that the Ambassador offers up the following example of why the coverage by the Indonesian media is negative: "Please don't portray us as bad people. Fifty percent of prisoners in Malaysia are Indonesians, why do we never hear about this in the news?"

Reading between the lines here; Indonesians that come to Malaysia are bad people because 50% of the total number of prisoners in Malaysian jails are Indonesians. So, we are clearly not as bad as Indonesians. Although, an alternative reading might be that Malaysians have a real problem with Indonesia and Indonesians, and whenever they get the chance will preferably put an Indonesian in jail.

I would have figured that good news is a two-way street. What is good for the goose has got to be good for the gander as well. Perhaps if Malaysian media reported a more balanced picture of Indonesia then perhaps Indonesian media would be equally forthcoming in portraying a more balanced picture of Malaysia.

Tattoo Taboos

The humble tattoo is no longer the world of just bikers, criminals, or other so-called undesirable elements of the community. I would not describe bikers as being undesirable elements of the community, if you were wondering. Tattoos have been going mainstream for some time and it seems that they have hit the mainstream vein as employers of all kinds are becoming more accepting of the idea of employees permanently inking their skin.

Just tracking the Sydney and New South Wales tattoo scene sees that from a mere three licensed artists in 1984, there has been a bit of an explosion with more than 50 licensed artists throughout the State. Tattoos were once identified as a moment of drunken stupidity in one's youth, this is clearly no longer the case! The quality of the artwork and the designs are testament to tattooing taking itself seriously as an art form.

I do not hesitate to add here that none of the tattoos that adorn my skin are the product of a drunken night on the town. Instead each has a meaning and each is significant to me as it tells my story and experiences.

Interestingly, in June 2006, Australia's biggest and most conservative employer, the Defence Force, lifted the rule that barred anyone with a tattoo from joining up. About bloody time if you ask me. It was a stupid rule because the armed forces did not kick you out once you joined up and then went and had some art done. If the defence force was serious then the ban should have been uniform and across the board. Perhaps better late than never.

Funnily enough the new defence rules would allow facial tattoos if there was a religious or cultural reason for such artwork. The idea that tattoos still carry social stigmas seems to be fading fast as tattoos become increasingly mainstream. Tattoos are also no longer immediately associated with youthful risk taking. If you do not believe this then watch shows like Miami Ink, LA Ink, and Tattoo Wars. Not everyone with a tattoo is a Charles Manson!

I have no regrets about the tattoos that I have and already have artwork ready for the next series of ink installments to be made on my skin.