When 4 000 university graduates are among the 20 000-plus people who apply to be a maid to an Indonesian soap star, one might think the country’s economy has hit rock bottom.
This is no ordinary job search, however, but the latest reality show to hit Indonesian TV. Dubbed Maid Idol, Ari Wibowo Looks for a Domestic Helper mixes entertaining and embarrassing games, lots of gawp time at one of the country’s most popular hunks and viewer participation in deciding who survives in the maid mansion.
While audience figures for the first couple of episodes suggest the show is likely to be a hit, critics say it is far from reality for the vast majority of Indonesians.
First there is the winner’s wages. At 10-million rupiah (R6 700) a month, they are about 20 times the average Indonesian maid’s salary and even many times what a junior manager could expect to earn.
Such a bounty triggered a flood of applicants who usually would never consider working as a domestic helper.
”Of the 20 finalists, only one has worked as a maid,” said Jamal Hasan, a producer with MD Entertainment, who is making the show. ”The others include employees from a variety of companies, chefs, business people and housewives.”
That does not worry Wibowo, who has helped select the finalists but does not pick the winner.
”I would like the winner to be someone who really needs the money, rather than have a diehard fan in my house,” he told Reuters.
Rights activists have slammed the show for glorifying a profession that enjoys virtually no protection under Indonesian law. Last month, Human Rights Watch produced a scathing report describing a litany of abuses, long hours, low pay and poor conditions most Indonesian maids have to endure.
Hasan is unrepentant.
”You can never please everyone,” he said. ”It’s only entertainment.” — Guardian Unlimited Â