Mr Subban has a sewing machine affixed to the table in front of his bicycle. Madam Desri Muliati irons clothes on a motorcycle, using a steam iron heated with a portable gas canister.
They are among Indonesia’s formidable force of informal workers that drive the economy, accounting for nearly 61 per cent of the country’s total labour force.
In this episode, ST’s foreign editor Li Xueying speaks with journalist Aqil Hamzah about the services that these workers provide, and why they eschew jobs in the formal sector.
Highlights (click/tap above):
2:10 Making ends meet
3:32 Finding them on Tik Tok, Instagram and on WhatsApp
6:07 Getting started during the pandemic; how much do they roughly earn as part of this ‘informal’ economy?
8:46 Challenges for the new Prabowo government
15:30 A reporter’s observations about Indonesia; his first experience of Jakarta
Read Aqil Hamzah’s article here:
Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn:
Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters
Host: Li Xueying (xueying@sph.com.sg)
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Executive producer: Ernest Luis
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Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
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