REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- An Indonesian legislator has urged the country's ambassador to Malaysia to summon RoboVac Malaysia for the content of its advertisements, which insult Indonesian people.
"The advertorial content in the company's banners insults the dignity of Indonesians working in Malaysia. The Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia should summon the company," Ahmad Zainuddin emphasized here on Wednesday.
Indonesia has deplored RoboVac Malaysia's racist advertisements and filed a protest against them to the Malaysian Foreign Ministry.
The sentence "Fire Your Indonesian Maid" written in the advertisements for the company's robotic vacuum cleaners insults and discredits Indonesia, the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said in a press statement.
The protest was filed by the embassy prior to President Joko Widodo's four-day trip, which starts on Thursday, to several ASEAN member states, including Malaysia.
According to Zainuddin, who is a member Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR) that oversees foreign affairs, defense, intelligence, and information and communication, the racist advertisements could damage the relations between Malaysia and Indonesia as a result of possible misunderstandings.
However, the Indonesian government should learn a lesson from this advertorial-related case and improve its efforts towards the quality and productivity of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia.
"Please take an example of the Filipino workers in Malaysia because their quality is much better than those of Indonesia. As a result of their English-speaking skills, they generally work for the middle class and elite families," he pointed out.
With regard to the RoboVac Malaysia case, the Indonesian Embassy has asked Malaysian authorities to ban the company's insensitive advertisements, including those available on its website (http://neatrobotcleaner.com.my).
The Malaysian government was also asked to ensure that such libelous and racist advertisements do not crop up in the future, the embassy noted, adding that the company had been reported to the Selangor police and that the embassy's lawyers had met with representatives of the company.
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