Workers recruitment process poor: Legislators<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Malaysia would never have decided to halve the number of
\nIndonesians working in the country if the government had
\nexercised proper control over the worker recruitment process,
\nlegislators say.<\/p>\n
The poor quality of recruitment had permitted the dispatch of
\nless qualified migrant workers, who were prone to breaking the
\nlaw in the host country.<\/p>\n
Speaking during a joint media conference, the legislators said
\nthe problem had resulted from the manpower ministry's shortage of
\naccurate data on the workers and the problems they were facing.<\/p>\n
\"At several hearings, the manpower ministry was unable to
\nprovide valid data. The data from the ministry was different from
\nwhat we found on the ground,\" Silvia Ratnawati, deputy chairwoman
\nof Commission VII for manpower affairs, said here on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Silvia, however, stopped short of specifically identifying the
\ndata in question.<\/p>\n
Apart from criticizing the ministry, legislators also proposed
\nthe establishment of a team to inquire into recent incidents
\ninvolving Indonesian workers in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
\"We will form a team to get first hand information on these
\ncases. What really happened?\" said Ambong, chairman of Commission
\nI for foreign affairs, here on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The joint media conference was held in response to the
\nMalaysian government's stern action against Indonesian workers
\nfollowing rioting in two Malaysian cities last week.<\/p>\n
Ambong said that the Indonesian workers, who are usually less
\neducated, might have fallen victim to the poor management of
\nworkers' associations.<\/p>\n
Despite his regrets, he suggested that the Indonesian
\ngovernment try hard to stop the plan by the Malaysian government
\nto halve the number of Indonesians working in the neighboring
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Vice President Hamzah Haz and Minister of Manpower and
\nTransmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea have said they would go to Kuala
\nLumpur to resolve the issue, but have yet to give a date for
\ntheir departure<\/p>\n
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce chairman Aburizal Bakri
\nsupported the plan to negotiate with the Malaysian authorities.<\/p>\n
\"Where will these workers be employed if they are sent home?\"
\nAburizal asked.<\/p>\n
Ambong said that Indonesian government officials and
\nlegislators could negotiate with their counterparts in the
\nMalaysian parliament and workers associations, as well as with
\nthe workers themselves.<\/p>\n
During a recent meeting with foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda
\nand police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, however, the legislators
\nwere unable to obtain information on specific plans by the
\ngovernment concerning the manpower issue.<\/p>\n
Silvia added that the Malaysia-bound team would consist of
\nabout seven legislators, who would try to uncover the root cause
\nof the problems in manpower affairs.<\/p>\n
She blamed the government for not paying serious attention to
\nmanpower affairs, claiming that most of the data provided by the
\nmanpower ministry during a series of hearings was invalid.<\/p>\n
As an example, Silvia revealed that many Indonesians had
\npretended to perform minor pilgrimages in an attempt to get
\npermits to work in Arab Saudi.<\/p>\n
\"The manpower ministry knew that this was happening only after
\nthe violence occurred,\" she added.<\/p>\n
In a statement distributed to the press, Ambong and Silvia,
\nwho are members of the Golkar faction, suggested that the
\ngovernment should not comment on the issue.<\/p>\n
They suggested that the recruitment of migrant workers should
\ninclude education about the legal system in the host country.<\/p>\n
Silvia also suggested that the government try to find other
\ncountries as new destinations for Indonesian migrant workers.<\/p>\n
According to the Malaysian authorities, there are currently
\naround 900,000 registered Indonesian workers in the neighboring
\ncountry, but according to manpower ministry data there are only
\nsome 568,000 Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's cabinet said Wednesday that
\nhousemaids would be exempted from the government's current policy
\nof hiring Indonesians last when choosing foreign workers.<\/p>\n
Human resources minister Fong Chan Onn said that many
\nMalaysian families with working mothers relied on Indonesian
\nhousemaids, whom he said caused fewer social problems than other
\nIndonesian workers.<\/p>\n
Fong said that as of December, there were 155,000 foreign
\nhousemaids living in Malaysia. Eighty percent of them were from
\nIndonesia, while the rest were from the Philippines and other
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Fong's comments, which came after the weekly cabinet meeting
\nWednesday, were carried by the Bernama Malaysian national news
\nagency.<\/p>",
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