Over the years, home worker abuse in the Middle East has led to a number of political disputes between host nations like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and those who send domestic workers worldwide, such as Indonesia and the Philippines.  ,
Local workers from Southeast Asia experiencing cases of victimization and injustice that occasionally sparked widespread public outcry at home. In most cases, Indonesia or the Philippines lodge proper protests.
In response to the implementation of an Indonesian local worker, Ruyati Sapubi, who was accused of killing her company, Jakarta took things one step further by recalling its then-ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Gatot Abdullah Mansyur.  ,
Indonesia maintained that it was only made aware of the murder after Mdm Ruyati was murdered, denying its diplomats the ability to defend her.
After the Egyptian country issued a formal explanation and promised to examine the circumstances against 12 Indonesian girls who were also on death row at the time, the Indonesian embassy was redeployed to Saudi a few days afterwards.  ,
However, Indonesian home workers who were executed in Saudi Arabia for murdering their organisations continued after normalization. According to Jakarta, these home workers should not have received the death penalty because the girls were abused, so Jakarta argued that the murders were self-defense.
Indonesia put a ban on the giving of home employees to Saudi Arabia along with 18 different Middle Eastern and North African nations in 2015.
More than a year after the demise of a Filipina girl, Joanna Demafelis, whose dead body was discovered inside a fridge in her employer’s room, the Philippines and Kuwait also had a political column. The dying sparked a ferocious public protest in the Philippines.
Rodrigo Duterte, the then-president, responded by enforcing a ban on new regional employees entering Kuwait in February 2018.
After the Filipino official in Kuwait assisted the escape of three people who had been abused and held hostage by their respective employers in May, the conflict turned into a full-blown political problems.
Manila acknowledged that the rescue efforts were not coordinated with Kuwaiti government, but argued that the girls ‘ lives were in danger and that action was required right away.
Kuwait responded by expelling Renato Villa, the Spanish ambassador, and is is issuing an imprisonment warrant against some military employees for violating their sovereignty.  ,
After the Philippines agreed to raise its ban, both sides made the decision to restart relations, with Kuwait agreeing to give home workers more rights and benefits, including health insurance and a weekly day out.  ,
Despite the disagreements, Southeast Asia and the Middle Eastern countries ‘ relationships in other industries were essentially unaffected.  ,
Even after the original imposed the eight-year restrictions on sending new regional staff to the Gulf state, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia remained important trading and investment lovers.  ,
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority land, even continued to send more and more acolytes for the quarterly Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia’s Mecca and Medina.
Despite the political crises, the Philippines and Kuwait remained important trading partners in the fields of oil, gas, clothing, and fruits.