Local Employee Fired for Saying Exactly What Expat Said One Week Earlier
Local worker dismissed for repeating an expat’s “bold insight.” Management praises the expat’s “fresh global perspective.”
JAKARTA — Local marketing manager Nadia Putri was officially dismissed from her role this week after daring to voice a direct, data-backed opinion that had previously been expressed, word-for-word, by a British expat just seven days prior.
The statement in question? “The product is not resonating with this market.”
Sources confirm that when Nadia calmly presented the exact same slide deck, with the exact same bullet points, during a client review session, she was met with stony silence, two raised eyebrows, and later, an unscheduled “alignment conversation” with HR.
“She really should’ve known better,” said Regional VP Derek Mason, speaking from the company’s WeWork office in a city he still refers to as ‘Shing-a-pore’. “We absolutely support open feedback. But it needs to come from the right type of voice.”
The original statement had been delivered by Senior Transformation Advisor James Parkes, a London-based consultant known for bringing “a fresh perspective” to Southeast Asian markets despite having never made it past Changi Airport.
“When James said it, it was different,” said one team lead who requested anonymity. “He used a graph from McKinsey. And he called the feedback ‘brutal but fair.’ Plus, he said it with a kind of confidence that only comes from not knowing what the client’s uncle does for a living.”
According to internal documents, Parkes received a performance bonus for “driving tough but necessary conversations.” Nadia, on the other hand, received an Outlook calendar invite titled Final HR Discussion – Bring Laptop.
Insiders say Nadia’s termination letter cited “tone,” “context,” and “a need for greater cultural diplomacy,” all of which were apparently not applicable when Parkes gave the same feedback while mispronouncing the client’s name and referencing outdated population statistics.
In an official statement, the company said it remains deeply committed to local talent, inclusion, and empowering diverse voices to speak up “as long as those voices are tempered, perfectly timed, and optionally foreign.”
“We love to hear from local leaders,” said Mason. “In fact, we’re running an internal listening tour next month. It’s being facilitated by a Canadian expat who specializes in regional alignment strategy. She lived in Bangkok for two weeks during her MBA, so she gets it.”
When asked whether there are structural issues around how feedback is received depending on who delivers it, Mason shook his head. “No, no. It’s just about tone. And framing. And maybe just a bit of the accent.”
As for Nadia, she’s currently considering a role with a competitor who, ironically, is looking to replace an expat GM with someone “who actually knows what’s going on.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “I learned a lot. Next time I’ll just say it in an Australian accent and open with a rugby reference.”
We write the headlines that haven’t happened yet, but probably will. Subscribe to The Rambutan for Southeast Asia’s sharpest fake news.