T

he residents of Bahodopi district in Morowali, Central Sulawesi, have swallowed rumors about the presence of thousands of Chinese workers at an industrial park managed by China’s joint venture PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP).

However, they can hardly see the Chinese workers in their neighborhood. Although unseen, it has not averted growing anti-Chinese sentiment and rallies in the past year.

“What I always remember is what the speakers often yell at the rallies: ‘The Chinese have invaded Bahodopi’,” Asbut, the head of hamlet V in Keurea village of Bahodopi told The Jakarta Post last month.

Morowali, a regency of 114,000 people that is about 1,700 kilometers from Jakarta, has experienced drastic changes in recent years following the establishment of the 2,000-hectare industrial complex.

Thousands of people from nearby provinces have flocked to the regency in droves for work or to establish new businesses.

IMIP has employed about 2,500 Chinese workers, 1,500 of which were categorized as experts and already have work permits, while the other 1,000 are construction workers with “pending permits.”

However, three IMIP workers interviewed by the Post last month said the actual figure could reach between 5,000 and 6,000, raising concerns over possible illegal working activities at the industrial complex.

The three also shared the same story on how countless Chinese workers fled to a nearby forest when immigration officials launched a raid.

“The Chinese workers had been informed beforehand about the raid. Hence, they had some time to run away and hide in the forest,” said a 31-year-old excavator operator.

It is hard for the Chinese to mingle with local workers inside the industrial complex, especially due to language barriers and cultural differences.

IMIP has employed hundreds of translators, mostly from Batam in Riau Islands, to help the Chinese communicate with the locals. But miscommunication is often inevitable.

For instance, in a video that went viral on social media in May, a Chinese foreman, shouting in Mandarin, refused to allow several Muslim Indonesian workers perform Friday prayers.

A translator then tried to mediate but he failed to convince the foreman, who stubbornly kept ordering them back to work.

Sometimes, quarrels erupt because a Chinese foreman gave an order by pointing his feet toward something, a gesture that is deemed highly impolite by Indonesians.

Furthermore, IMIP’s exclusive treatment of the Chinese may further increase feelings of segregation among the locals, especially when the company provides the Chinese with separate lodging, a canteen and pays them more than the locals.

“I’ve asked some of the Chinese workers, through the help of the translators, how much they get paid. They said their monthly pay could reach as high as Rp 20 million [US$1,482.9], half of which were paid in rupiah for their daily needs here, while the rest is transferred to their relatives back in China,” said a 21-year-old excavator operator. “The Chinese work as heavy equipment operators just like me, but I only get paid Rp 4.7 million a month.”

IMIP’s human resource manager, Achmanto Mendatu, said it was only natural for the Chinese to receive higher payment because they were considered experts or skilled workers tasked with monitoring the constructions of various facilities at the complex.

Moreover, he said, all Indonesians recruited by the company were considered unskilled workers who needed to be trained before being promoted and getting a raise.

“When Indonesian experts work in other countries, such as in Vietnam or elsewhere, they will also get higher payment rates compared to the locals there. So, it’s actually a common practice,” Achmanto said.

IMIP senior vice president for external relations Slamet Viktor Panggabean, meanwhile, acknowledged that there were cultural differences that made it hard for the Chinese to get along with the local workers.

However, he said the Chinese tended to have a better work ethic, especially considering that they have to work 12 hours a day in two shifts, compared to the locals who only worked eight hours a day in a three-shift schedule.

“But the Chinese workers won’t be here forever because we aim to complete the knowledge transfer process within the next five years,” Slamet said.

He also explained the presence of Chinese workers was inevitable because they were employed by Chinese companies that won the bidding rights for many procurements needed by IMIP.

Chinese workers, he said, were sent by the winning firms to provide construction guarantees and to supervise the installation of many components, leaving IMIP with no other option but to employ the workers before their permits were cleared.

“It will take at least three months for us to process all of their work permits,” said Slamet.