Five RI workers overseas may face death sentence

Five RI workers overseas may face death sentence

JAKARTA (JP): At least five Indonesian workers overseas have
been charged with murder and are facing possible death sentences.

Director General of Manpower Placement and Development Din
Syamsuddin revealed on Tuesday that two workers in Saudi Arabia,
two workers in Singapore and one in Malaysia have all been
charged with murder.

In Saudi Arabia, Siti Zaenab from Bangkalan, East Java, could
face a death sentence for allegedly killing her employer's wife,
while Setiadi is charged with murdering a fellow Indonesian
worker.

Two workers in Singapore, Ikaesih Dul Holid from Cirebon, West
Java and Sumiyem from Tulung Agung, East Java, were accused of
murdering their employers' babies.

Ikaesih is accused of throwing a baby from the third floor of
an apartment, while Sumiyem allegedly poured mercury into the
baby's mouth.

Meanwhile, an Indonesian worker in Malaysia named Mariana is
also accused of murdering her employer's baby in Johor Baru by
placing adhesive tape all over the baby's mouth.

Din said the government would do its best to save the lives of
these Indonesians.

"We will do anything we can. We've hired lawyers to defend
them, and we even asked Amnesty International to help us. Today,
it has asked us to send the pictures of the workers," he said in
a hearing with House of Representatives' Commission VI on Human
Resources and Religion Affairs.

Among the five, the case seems to be more difficult for
Mariana and Sumiyem as both are illegal workers.

The issue has come to the fore again after the death penalty
was carried out on Indonesian worker Warni in Saudi Arabia last
week.

Prior to this the government has been relatively successful in
saving the lives of several workers abroad sentenced to death.

In April a court in the United Arab Emirates sentenced
Sriningsih from Brebes, Central Java to be stoned to death for
killing a Sri Lankan co-worker.

"But our government succeeded in rescuing Sriningsih from the
death penalty. So she was only given a 15-year prison sentence.
But we will also try to appeal that and ask for clemency," Din
said.

Earlier Kartini binti Karim from Karawang, West Java, who was
accused of adultery, also escaped death row in the same country
after the government intervened.

"Unfortunately in Warni's case, we failed," he added.

Minister of Manpower Bomer Pasaribu said the government did
its best to save Warni's life.

"We've recruited a top lawyer there which cost us around
US$9,000. We asked prominent figures like ulemas to help us
negotiate and we asked for clemency from the victim's family. We
tried everything, but it failed," said Bomer.

According to Din, such efforts should be a joint effort
between various government institutions and not the sole
responsibility of the Ministry of Manpower.

Din said another important factor was the absence of a labor
agreement between these respective countries.

He said Indonesia currently only has manpower agreements with
Malaysia and Kuwait which can help it protect its workers. He
added that an agreement with Qatar, South Korea and Jordan is in
the pipeline.

"An agreement with Saudi Arabia is very difficult to reach.
We've talked with the Saudi Arabian Ambassador in Indonesia five
times to discuss it. We've talked with the Minister of Labor in
Riyadh, and President Abdurrahman Wahid himself has even talked
with King Fahd...But they still seem unwilling," Din remarked.

To protect Indonesian workers overseas, the Ministry has
employed an insurance companies consortium system which does not
only compensate accidents or deaths, but also provides legal aid.

In Warni's case for example, the insurance company paid the
lawyers.

Despite President Abdurrahman's assertion earlier this year
that he would allow unskilled labor to be sent overseas, Bomer
said he would like to see the number go down in the coming year.

He added that skilled labor was in high demand, with the most
requested professions being nurses, agroindustry workers,
sailors, and Information Technology specialists.

Bomer claimed that Japan has asked for around 400,000 nurses
while Taiwan needs around 400,000 construction workers from
Indonesia.

In the United States, around 400,000 to 500,000 sailors are
sought.

"But the problem is, many of our workers don't meet the
standards," said Bomer.

He pointed out that out of 12,000 Indonesian applications for
nursing positions in Japan, only 2,000 were accepted.

He further added that out of some 70,000 Indonesian sailors in
the United States, at least 40,000 are "troubled" as they do not
meet International Marine Organization (IMO) standards.

There are over 1.2 million Indonesian workers overseas. Most
are located in the Middle East and Malaysia. (09)