Do you think my pembantu is telling the truth?

**Puspawarna** · 15-08-10, 10:16

My pembantu just asked for a loan of Rp 3 juta to take her husband and her child to the RS because they both have a fever.

I gave her the money, but asked for a receipt from the hospital ... I find it hard to believe that going to the doctor, who will probably just prescribe some aspirin/Tylenol and some irrelevant antibiotics and send them on their way, costs Rp 1.5 million per person.

Could she be telling the truth? I assume she wanted the money for something else but didn't want to say what it was for fear of being turned down.

**Hombre de Maiz** · 15-08-10, 10:34

As long as she pays it back, does it really matter?

**waarmstrong** · 15-08-10, 10:36

Unless she was planning to go to SOS, 3 Jt. is approximately 10 times the normal walk-in doctor visit fee for two.

**waarmstrong** · 15-08-10, 10:39

Yes, Hombre, it would bother me if my employee felt she had to lie to get help.

**Hombre de Maiz** · 15-08-10, 10:40

You might wish to impose an "insult to the intelligence/bukan anak kemarin" penalty on the loan...

**Hombre de Maiz** · 15-08-10, 10:43

I've come to accept that despite my best effort and intent, getting to the bottom of things, getting the real story in Indonesia can be many times an exercise in futility, a wild goose chase, so often I just chose to let go, and just ride the waves of (superficial) harmony...

**atlantis** · 15-08-10, 10:45

Originally Posted by Puspawarna

My pembantu just asked for a loan of Rp 3 juta to take her husband and her child to the RS because they both have a fever.

I gave her the money, but asked for a receipt from the hospital ... I find it hard to believe that going to the doctor, who will probably just prescribe some aspirin/Tylenol and some irrelevant antibiotics and send them on their way, costs Rp 1.5 million per person.

Could she be telling the truth? I assume she wanted the money for something else but didn't want to say what it was for fear of being turned down.

Where I live, we don't have SOS or the like. The common RS is the place to go to have a chance to get diagnosed anything else than masuk angin. When any of my kid or family member has a persistant fever, the bill including doctor visit and medecine prescribed, rarely exceed IDR 300/350.000. This is when the doctor decide to be generous in his/her prescription. If a blood analysis is required it may bring the total bill to IDR 500.000. Not 3 millions. To reach this amount it would require a very serious fever requiring an or several overnite stay at the RS.

**Mas Rob** · 15-08-10, 10:48

I think you're right Puspawarna. There is a fair chance other issues are involved. Perhaps there is a family debt which should be paid off before Idulfitri, but this is only a wild guess.

**Puspawarna** · 15-08-10, 13:10

Originally Posted by Hombre de Maiz

As long as she pays it back, does it really matter?

Kind of, for four reasons:

1) As waarmie says, it is bothersome if my employee feels she needs to lie to get help.

2) There is no need to take a loan for medical matters - we will gladly pay legitimate medical expenses for our staff and their immediate family.

3) I maintain a fairly distant-but-cordial relationship with my staff, but it is nonetheless useful to have SOME idea what's going on with them, so that I can manage the situation with fairness.

4) Although I like to think of myself as a relatively seasoned expat, I still have a lot to learn. If it really did cost the people around me that much to obtain even minimal medical care, I'd want to be aware of that fact.

**Puspawarna** · 15-08-10, 13:24

Actually, I do have a suspicion as to what is really going on. This pembantu got married last year, and had a baby nine months later. We were generous with paid time off (a couple of weeks for the wedding, 3 months for the maternity leave) and wedding and baby gifts (5 million in each case, if I recall correctly). Nonetheless, she also took many millions in loans on top of what we provided, to pay for wedding festivities and baby stuff.

We don't mind giving the loans, as long as they aren't so large that the employee will suffer future financial hardship trying to pay them back.

Shortly after the baby was born (when she was still in fairly deep debt for her wedding/baby loans), this pembantu asked for another, really large loan so that she could give a 40-day party for the baby. The loan repayments would have been unsustainable, and she had already been cashed up with loans/gifts, so in our judgment the additional loan was an unwise extravagance. My husband's office manager (an Indonesian with years of experience managing clerks/drivers, and helping expats with their household staff issues) called her on our behalf, and explained that taking a large loan to hold a party at that point was a fiscally irresponsible thing for her to do.

So, I'm betting the 3 million is for a first birthday party for the kid (or whatever the culturally likely equivalent would be). Frankly, we'd have given her the loan for that purpose, since she is debt-free at the moment and we completely trust her to pay it back. But she is probably still remembering the office manager's lecture.

This is all pure speculation on my part, though - I could be totally wrong.

I'm curious to see what happens when I follow up to ask for the kwitansi. Her embarrassed mumblings when she can't produce it will serve nicely as the "bukan anak kemarin" penalty.