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Ada Pertanyaan? Hubungi Kami Jasmine Abdurrachim
The ability to communicate in the Indonesian language is a new requirement that needs to be met by foreign workers in order to be able to work in Indonesia. So Diar Riga, the Head of the Legal and Foreign Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Employment,told hukumonline inMay 2015. Indeed this requirement had supposedly developed into a discourse, the ultimate aim of which was, “to establish a TOEFL-like proficiency test for the Indonesian language”.Reyna Usman, Director General of Manpower Development and Placement at the Ministry of Employment, has previously asserted that this requirement for foreign workers to be able to communicate in Indonesian was related to knowledge transfer.
According to Mrs. Usman, such knowledge and specialization transfers would prove difficult if foreigner workers in Indonesia were unable to speak Indonesian, while their Indonesian colleagues were unable to speak their native languages. Therefore, since it is the foreigners who would be working in Indonesia, then they are the ones to be required to communicate in the Indonesian language.
Mrs. Usman's statement was based on a regulation issued two years ago in the form of Permenakertrans No. 12 of 2013on Procedures Regarding the Use of Foreign Workers. Article 26, paragraph (1), letter (d) of this amendment stipulated four requirements pertaining to foreign workers living and working in Indonesia, one of which was, “to be able to communicate in the Indonesian language”.
The other three requirements were to hold a suitable degree for their position, possess certain competency certificates, and to also possess an affidavit indicating their willingness to transfer knowledge to Indonesian workers.
In her endorsement of Ms. Usman’s view, Diar Riga admitted that the implementation of this requirement would not be a simple matter, as various concerns needed to be addressed. The South Korean Chamber of Commerce, for example, requested that the government provide detailed provisions stipulating that this obligation would only become mandatory after a certain grace period.
President Joko Widodo has now weighed in on the matter, however, and has made it clear that he regards these stringent regulations to be a disincentive for foreign investors. He has thus targeted them for removal and recently instructed the Minister of Employment to cancel the amendment, including the obligation to communicate in the Indonesia language.
“It would be impossible to implement this, as most likely it would take quite a long time for foreigners to be able to communicate fluently in our language. This would therefore delay foreign workers from entering Indonesia, hence it must be removed, and this includes the removal of the Temporary Stay Permit [KITAS]. We hope that this revocation can be immediately implemented,” stated Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung in Jakarta on Friday, 21 August, 2015.
When quizzed specifically about a time frame regarding the cancellation of these rules, Mr. Anung answered briefly that they would be annulled over the last week of August in order to comply with the President’s request to remove all, “unfriendly,” regulations relating to foreign investment in the country.
(sp)
Jasmine Abdurrachim
The ability to communicate in the Indonesian language is a new requirement that needs to be met by foreign workers in order to be able to work in Indonesia. So Diar Riga, the Head of the Legal and Foreign Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Employment,told hukumonline inMay 2015. Indeed this requirement had supposedly developed into a discourse, the ultimate aim of which was, “to establish a TOEFL-like proficiency test for the Indonesian language”.Reyna Usman, Director General of Manpower Development and Placement at the Ministry of Employment, has previously asserted that this requirement for foreign workers to be able to communicate in Indonesian was related to knowledge transfer.
According to Mrs. Usman, such knowledge and specialization transfers would prove difficult if foreigner workers in Indonesia were unable to speak Indonesian, while their Indonesian colleagues were unable to speak their native languages. Therefore, since it is the foreigners who would be working in Indonesia, then they are the ones to be required to communicate in the Indonesian language.
Mrs. Usman's statement was based on a regulation issued two years ago in the form of Permenakertrans No. 12 of 2013on Procedures Regarding the Use of Foreign Workers. Article 26, paragraph (1), letter (d) of this amendment stipulated four requirements pertaining to foreign workers living and working in Indonesia, one of which was, “to be able to communicate in the Indonesian language”.
The other three requirements were to hold a suitable degree for their position, possess certain competency certificates, and to also possess an affidavit indicating their willingness to transfer knowledge to Indonesian workers.
In her endorsement of Ms. Usman’s view, Diar Riga admitted that the implementation of this requirement would not be a simple matter, as various concerns needed to be addressed. The South Korean Chamber of Commerce, for example, requested that the government provide detailed provisions stipulating that this obligation would only become mandatory after a certain grace period.
President Joko Widodo has now weighed in on the matter, however, and has made it clear that he regards these stringent regulations to be a disincentive for foreign investors. He has thus targeted them for removal and recently instructed the Minister of Employment to cancel the amendment, including the obligation to communicate in the Indonesia language.
“It would be impossible to implement this, as most likely it would take quite a long time for foreigners to be able to communicate fluently in our language. This would therefore delay foreign workers from entering Indonesia, hence it must be removed, and this includes the removal of the Temporary Stay Permit [KITAS]. We hope that this revocation can be immediately implemented,” stated Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung in Jakarta on Friday, 21 August, 2015.
When quizzed specifically about a time frame regarding the cancellation of these rules, Mr. Anung answered briefly that they would be annulled over the last week of August in order to comply with the President’s request to remove all, “unfriendly,” regulations relating to foreign investment in the country.
(sp)