RI MAY IMPOSE MORATORIUM ON WORKERS DISPATCH TO SAUDI ARABIA

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 19 (ANTARA) - Following recent abuses of Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, the Indonesian government is considering to impose a moratorium on the dispatch of its workers to that country or to impose a condition where only selected Saudi employers would be allowed to recruit Indonesian workers.          Manpwower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said after attending a limited Cabinet meeting on Friday that the government might issue a moratorium if both countries failed to find mutually advantageous agreement regarding the placement of Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.          "I think (moratorium could be imposed on workers dispatch to) Jordan and Saudi Arabia. But a thorough evaluation must be made in the first place until we can draw a conclusion that a moratorium would be imposed or not," the minister said.           The minister referred to a number of cases of maltreatment and murder of Indonesian workers who worked in that country. With regard to Jordan, Indonesia has issued a moratorium and ordered manpower supplier companies to stop sending workers to that country until both nations reached mutually beneficial agreement.          Sumiati binti Salan Mustapa (23) who hailed from Dompu, West Nusa Tenggara province, was found hospitalized last Nov 8 for serious injuries on her body believed to have been inflicted by her employer in Medina.          On Nov 8, the Indonesian Consulate General in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, received a report that the 23-year-old woman had been taken to King Fahd hospital in Medina. She had reportedly been tortured by the wife of her employer and sustained serious injuries to many parts of her body.          Haryatin, an Indonesian migrant worker (TKI) hailing from Blitar, East Java, is now blind due to torture by her employers in Saudi Arabia. Visited at the Undaan ophthalmic hospital in Surabaya on Thursday, the 32-year-old woman said she had been tortured for as long as three years.           Another report said that violence also happened to Kikim Komalasari who was reported  to have been killed by her employer in Abha. Her body was found later in a garbage dump.          "Moratorium on dispatch of workers to Saudi Arabia could be one solution to the violations against our workers. But a decision on issuing a moratorium must be accompanied by a comprehensive evaluation," Spokesman of the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration Suhartono said.           Apart from issuing a moratorium, the government may also set a requirement that Indonesian workers may only be employed by Saudi employers who had been selected and recommended by the Saudi government.           "Indonesia should select their prospective employers,"  Law and Human Rights Minister  Patrialis Akbar said before attending the cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office.          Patrialis said foreigners abroad who intended to employ Indonesians should first obtain a recommendation from their respective governments. The recommendation should state that the would-be employer fulfilled the requirements for  employing  Indonesians. This was necessary to prevent Indonesian workers from being mistreated or abused.          The minister said the government would do its best to provide protection for all Indonesian citizens staying overseas. "We have to provide maximum  protection for our citizens wherever they are," he said.          According to Suhartono, moratorium could be one of the solutions to overcome the frequent abuses against Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia.          Yet, Presidential Spokesman for foreign affairs Teuku Faizasyah said earlier on Thursday  that the government would not be issuing a  moratorium on the dispatch of Indonesian migrant workers to Saudi Arabia related to the Sumiati case.          He said the case of Sumiati cannot be considered as a general phenomenon of all the Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the work condition in that country.           In his directives at Friday's limited cabinet meeting, President Yudhoyono said there were at present a total of  3,271,584 Indonesian migrant workers overseas with 4,385 case of maltreatment including violent act and sexual harassment.          "The percentage of maltreatment against our migrant workers is 0.01 percent but anyway we have to make sure they have protection and proper treatment in accordance with their working contract," the president said.           The president is therefore to send a special team  to Saudi Arabia to study the case of Indonesian migrant worker (TKI) Sumiati who had been tortured by her employers.          The president made the decision following an internal meeting at his residence at  Puri Cikeas Indah, Bogor, Thursday night. The team would study the employment climate in Saudi Arabia to guarantee protection for migrant workers.          Head of the Indonesian workers placement and protection agency (BNP2TKI) Moh Jumhur Hidayat said a joint team handling the case of torture of Sumiati binti Salan Mustopa had left for Saudi Arabia Thursday night.          He said here in his electronic message that the joint team was led by State Minister for Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Linda Ameliasari Agum Gumelar.          Meanwhile,  the Saudi government is committed to bringing the perpetrators to the court.          Speaking to the press following a meeting at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, Saudi Ambassador to Indonesia Al Hayat said the Saudi government was committed to referring the case to the court.          "We have taken steps to investigate  the case in order to bring the perpetrator to justice," he said. He said the Saudi government would not turn a blind eye to the case and would order the authorized agencies in Saudi Arabia to follow it up.          "I believe that the authorized agencies in Saudi Arabia have taken the necessary steps to refer the case to the court," he said.     (T.A014/A/HAJM/21:50/H-YH) 19-11-2010 21:00:2