Legal aid for RI workers in Malaysia

JAKARTA: The government will provide legal assistance to the Indonesian workers currently detained in Malaysia, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Izha Mahendra announced on Thursday.

"We have prepared legal assistance, but we would use local lawyers, as there is no arrangement between our governments to allow attorneys to practice law outside their country of origin," Yusril told reporters on Thursday.

Indonesian attorneys, however, would be on hand to observe and provide recommendations to the Malaysian lawyers during the trials, he added.

In mid-January, hundreds of Indonesian workers from a textile factory attacked police when officers tried to detain their colleagues suspected of taking drugs.

Dozens of workers accused of participating in the riot are currently facing trial in Malaysia.

The riot has also prompted the Malaysian government to halve the number of Indonesians working there legally. --JP