INDONESIANS are the fastest growing foreign community in Hong Kong for the second consecutive year, according to the latest Immigration Department statistics.
But as the numbers of Indonesians grow, so do the worries of lawyers and domestic helpers' rights groups that those who are maids are often paid less than the legal wage and treated worse than the better-represented Filipinos.
By the end of last year, 53,400 Indonesians were resident in the SAR, up 20 per cent on the previous year, against 136,100 Filipinos, the figures show.
The Indonesian Consulate said the rise could be put down to an increase in demand for maids from Indonesia, due to their perceived 'compliant' nature.
It is also thought that ethnic riots in Indonesia two years ago prompted many Indonesian-Chinese to come to the SAR.
The number of Indonesian residents has risen 18 to 20 per cent a year since 1996.
