grocery shop owners. Moreover, she is aware of her surrounding environment, in which she meets new people, and develops friendships with the people around the area.
to each helper. During the fieldwork, she had employed Cheya, Ros, Irlah and Suta121 at different points in time. Irlah and Ros suggested to Suti that they could peel the potatoes the night before and thus she could save some time and workload in the morning. She rejected the suggestion, and argued that
The potatoes have to be cut only on the day itself, if they are peeled and cut the day before, the taste would not be good. (09.08.2012, field note entry)
Furthermore, she filtered out the Risoles which did not meet her standards; for instance, when there was not enough filling in them. She was very proud of the Risoles she made:
[…] My Risoles always get sold out by the end of the day. The factory workers enjoy eating Risoles! (12.07.2012, field note entry)
From time to time, she received phone calls from the shop owners if they closed the shops on particular days; for instance, there was no water and electricity supply for an afternoon in August 2013 and the restaurant closed for that day. She would then make up her mind to rest for the day. She often reduces the quantity of cakes in the early month when the workers receive their salary. Suti explained that workers will normally spend their salary on KFC or MacDonalds in order to pamper themselves. Therefore the selling of cakes will drop slightly in the early part of the month.
Cheya, who had played the role of Suti’s short-term part-time worker helping Suti in the Risoles business, is charaterised as a flexible and dynamic worker who has had various working experiences with both Indonesian and local employers in the services sector. At the same time, she started her own small business selling Indonesian desserts to factory workers. Cheya’s experiences have an added value in depicting Suti’s business configuration, because Cheya is also an undocumented worker who has lived in Penang
121 More details about Cheya will be discussed in the following paragraphs. Ros is a colleague of Irlah. She was introduced by Irlah to help Suti. Suti was very satisfied with Ros’s performance. While Irlah joined when Suti did not find any candidate yet as Ros was doing overtime in the factory. Suta is Javanese-born, in her 40s, and works in a food shop in the evening. Some time ago, Suti commented that she was unhappy with Cheya’s performance and therefore she had stopped asking for her help.
for longer than Suti. To some extent, Cheya showcases her capacity to engage in various employment opportunities in the hostel area due to her strength in managing her everyday life, which is not greatly different from that of the local people.
Cheya is from Medan, Indonesia, and is 51 years old. She started to work in a garment factory in Malaysia in 1991 for seven years before working in a restaurant for more than 10 years. She was married in Indonesia in 1984, but separated after some years.
She supported the study fees of her daughter, to whom she gave birth in 1993.
Since I started to work here, the financial worry in my family back home has improved. (28.12.2012, Cheya’s personal account, field note entry)
Later, she remarried to a Malaysian Muslim man from Sabah, the East of Malaysia, but he had already passed away. She reported that the life of her family in Medan had improved since she had started to work in Malaysia. Cheya stayed in Penang Hill for 11 years, renting a room from a local Chinese. She had worked in a restaurant and canteen, washing plates and as a cleaner. Her daughter was married to a local Malaysian Muslim man, and she worked in a factory. She visited to Cheya on Sundays and supported her with RM 100 monthly.
Suti was friendly and helpful to her neighbours, friends, new and old factory workers, local residents, and people around her. For instance, Suti recommended a female factory worker to rent one of the rooms in Cheya’s flat. In turn, Cheya gave RM 55 (€ 12.80) to Suti as a gesture of appreciation. Cheya rented two rooms to Indonesian factory workers who stayed with their partners, and one room was about to be rented to a local Chinese man. Cheya herself had rented the flat for RM 600 (€140) monthly from a local Chinese female landlord for about 2 years. For Cheya, the total amount of monthly rent collected from three rooms freed her from having to pay her own rent, and her water and electricity bills.122 The difference in terms of room arrangements between Cheya and Suti is that Cheya lives in the corner of the living hall whiles Suti lives in the master room with her
122 The master room and the middle room are each rented for RM 250 (€ 58.50) per month, and the third room, which is the smallest, for RM 220 (€ 58.50). The total collection of rent through this arrangement is RM 720 (€ 168).
daughter. Cheya’s ‘bedroom’ is simply a division made by placing two closets, and the
‘entrance’ is covered by a simple curtain (see Picture 10). Besides, she accepted her
‘brother’123 to stay in her place while he was looking for jobs. I saw the ‘brother’ several times wandering near the building, sometimes with Cheya and sometimes alone. Cheya remarked,
[…] just like him (pointing to her ‘brother’ who was sitting in front of us) […]
how do poor people have enough savings to pay for agents? So he travelled to Penang as a tourist124, then he overstayed while seeking a job; once he got the job, he would have enough money to register as documented worker […] thus, we are waiting for the 6P […] we already have enough money to pay for the registration fees after years of working here […]. (03.11.2012 Interview with Cheya)
After a few months, I saw Cheya’s ‘brother’ passing by on a bicycle. I learned from Cheya that he was employed by a local Chinese boss as a cleaner and that he had already moved out from her place. The scenario of supporting her ‘brother’ indicates that Cheya is familiar with the job opportunities in Penang, and knows that the local population needs their labour. Furthermore, workers are willing to register themselves as legal workers after they have started to work and when they have enough savings, implying that this is one of the practical strategies for workers confronting money issues in the initial stage of their migration.
123 He was a man of around 45 years of age who came with a Visit Pass but overstayed with an intention of finding a job in Penang. I am unsure the truth of her relationship with her ‘brother’ as I cannot prove whether it is true from their sayings.
124 ASEAN nationals are not required to apply for visa for a stay of less than one month, except those from Myanmar. However, if the person intends to stay for a period of three months, he or she has to apply for the Single Entry Visa. The fee for an Indonesian national is RM 20 (€ 4.60). (Immigration Department of Malaysia, 2013)