JAKARTA ~

The Indonesian Government has deplored and filed a protest with the Malaysian Foreign Ministry regarding RoboVac Malaysia’s advertisements of its vacuum cleaner products, which it considers to be demeaning to the Indonesian people.

The sentence “Fire Your Indonesian Maid” appearing in the advertisements has insulted and discredited Indonesians, the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur stated in a press statement on Wednesday.

The protest was filed by the embassy prior to President Joko Widodo’s four-day visit to several ASEAN member states, including Malaysia, which commences on Thursday.

The Indonesian Embassy has asked the Malaysian authorities to ban the insensitive advertisements, including those appearing on the Malaysian company’s website.

The Malaysian Government was also asked to ensure that such libelous and racist advertisements will no longer appear in the future.

In connection with this case, a complaint against the company had been lodged with the Selangor police, and the embassy’s lawyer had met the company’s representatives, the embassy confirmed.