Fadli

Fadli
The Jakarta Post/Batam

Lured by promises of a high salary and better working conditions,
Oneng left her hometown in the West Java town of Cianjur to work
as a maid in Malaysia with high hopes.

But these hopes were soon dashed. After working in Johor Bahru
for just a month, the 35-year-old ended up in the Batam City's
welfare office on Tuesday, lying helplessly in a worn-out bed,
injured and poor.

She was sent back home by the Consulate General's office in
Johor Bahru along with five other Indonesian migrant workers
after her employer callously abandoned her on the road. Oneng
suffered pelvic injuries after she fell to the ground from the
second-floor apartment where she worked.

"After learning that I fell and could not walk normally, my
employer left me at an intersection in Johor Bahru. I could only
cry there until a person took me to the Consulate General's
office in Johor," she told The Jakarta Post.

Oneng was originally sent to Johor Bahru from Batam through a
manpower agent to work as a maid with a set salary of RM 450 per
month. But she never got paid.

"I had just arrived and started work in Malaysia but then I
suffered this misfortune. I have no money to bring back home
while my stomach is in great pain ... I just want to go home,"
Oneng said in tears.

Batam City Social Services Office social insurance and
assistance division head Zulfikar Idham said an increasing number
of Indonesian migrant workers in difficulty were using the help
of the service to return to Batam.

Last year, the office received 175 Indonesian migrant workers,
while until September this year it had already accommodated 222
workers, mostly women, Zulfikar said.

"The number of troubled workers who are being sent back by the
Consulate General keeps on increasing in number, while the city
administration only sets aside a limited budget to deal with the
problem. We need the central government's attention to help deal
with this matter," he said.