359 RI workers incarcerated in S. Arabian jails
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief disclosed yesterday that 359 Indonesians are currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia.
"They were convicted for various crimes, including theft, immigration document forgery and adultery. Some of them even have babies out of wedlock," Latief said after meeting President Soeharto at the Bina Graha presidential office.
He did not say whether any of the prisoners had been sentenced to death by Saudi courts, as some labor activists here fear.
Indonesian maid Nasiroh Karmudin escaped execution last month after a Saudi Arabian court decided to commute her death sentence because the family of the victim she admitted to killing, after he allegedly raped her, forgave her.
Another female Indonesian worker, Soleha Anam Kadiran, was beheaded in Mecca in September after being found guilty of killing her employer, who had allegedly tried to sexually abuse her.
"The government has airlifted 24,357 illegal workers from the oil-rich country in a nearly one-month-long repatriation operation," Latief said.
The operation, involving Garuda and Air Force planes, had to be conducted after Saudi Arabia ended its three-month amnesty and began expelling foreigners working there illegally.
The minister said 93.53 percent of the workers had intentionally overstayed after performing umrah, the minor Moslem pilgrimage.
"About 90 percent of them were female workers, mostly from Cianjur and Sukabumi in West Java, Surabaya and Madura in East Java, West Nusa Tenggara and South Kalimantan," Latief said.
Latief said Sunday there were still up to 150,000 Indonesians working and living illegally in Saudi Arabia.
According to the latest Ministry of Manpower figures, legal Indonesian workers abroad include: 408,211 in Malaysia, 319,444 in Saudi Arabia; 86,209 in Singapore, 26,278 in South Korea; 19,630 in the United Arab Emirates; and 225,567 in Taiwan.
Latief said the government would not tolerate the abuse of religious journeys to conduct illegal activities.
"The President ordered me to ensure stricter control of the minor haj pilgrimage and if necessary to punish the brokers who persuade the workers to go there," Latief said.
The minister revealed that about 700 brokers were involved in the counterfeiting scam, including giving fake passports to the workers, many of whom are underaged girls.
Latief said he would seek cooperation from the Armed Forces and local authorities to crack down on the broker syndicates.
When asked about the percentage of female workers jailed in Saudi Arabia, Latief said smiling: "I think in theft cases most of them are male workers, but where adultery is concerned I think it involves both female and male workers."
The President also ordered him to protect employees of the 16 recently liquidated banks.
"I am ordered to help them find new jobs after losing their jobs with the banks," Latief said. (prb)