Fake IDs often used by migrant workers

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government's inability to identify the two Indonesian migrant workers, who have just been released by an Iraq-based terror group after three days of abduction, and the murky account of their entry into the war-torn country has exposed the "chaotic" nature of the country's labor export system.

The identities of the two women have "changed" three times since the news on their abduction was initially reported by Qatar-based Al Jazeera over the weekend. The official government- appointed labor exporting agencies, which sponsored their departure to Iraq also have come under scrutiny.

Only on Wednesday was the identity of the two women confirmed after telephone conversations with their respective husbands. Casingkem binti Aspin and Istiqomah binti Misnad are scheduled to arrive at Soekarno-Hatta airport at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday after a flight from Abu Dhabi.

Sugiyanto, the husband of Casingkem who was previously misidentified as Rafikan binti Amuh and later Novitasari, said his 24-year-old wife was recruited by a broker recently from their home village in Indramayu, West Java, and sent by PT Sabrina Paramitha to Jordan.

Istiqomah's husband, Edi of Banyuwangi in East Java, also said that his wife was sponsored by PT Sabrina. She was previously misidentified as Rosidah and Rofiqah.

The government has suspended indefinitely the operation of PT Sabrina.

Spokesman for the foreign ministry Marty Natalegawa has said that according to the Immigration Directorate General, the two women were sponsored by PT Akbar Insan Prima of Cipinang, East Jakarta.

It turned out later the two women used fake documents to enter Iraq through Jordan.

Calling the whole labor export system chaotic, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayudha suggested after a meeting with outgoing President Megawati Soekarnoputri the suspension of all labor exports until the administration of it was revamped.

Yunus Yamani, chairman of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Supplying Companies Association (Himsataki), said on Wednesday that the illegal use of fake documents was an open secret because many labor exporters were only interested in maximum profit, while the country's bureaucracy was corrupt.

"Many labor exporters and unauthorized companies have used fake documents to send as many workers as possible, including unskilled and uncertified people. It is quite possible that Casingkem and Istiqomah were holding such fake passports in order to work in Iraq," he said.

He suggested that passports of migrant workers be issued not in Jakarta, but in their towns of origin, and only after they receive job orders from prospective employers.

Wahyu Susilo, coordinator of Migrant Care, urged the government not only to review the labor export procedures but, to establish concrete regulations that protect migrant workers and enforce a strong legislation to prevent human trafficking and the use of fake documents to work overseas.

"The government has to investigate the two workers' illegal departure to Iraq thoroughly and punish their suppliers as severely as possible to teach other suppliers and labor exporters a lesson, otherwise our labor export system will just be a type of human trafficking," he said.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea, who has overseen the ministry for the last three years, acknowledged the rampant use of fake documents and the corrupt bureaucracy, but said it was new government's responsibility to fix the problems.

"It is the next government's task to make sure labor exporters comply with the procedures. The coming government must also enforce the migrant workers protection law consistently," he said.