Migrant workers sue President

Migrant workers sue President

JAKARTA: A group of migrant workers filed a lawsuit against
President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her administration on Monday
for their failure to provide assistance to hundreds of thousands
of undocumented migrants expelled from Malaysia last year.

Instead of demanding compensation, the plaintiffs are asking
the court to order the government to enact a law on migrant
worker protection and to ratify United Nations conventions on
migrant workers.

They are also demanding the court order the government to
cooperate with the Malaysian government in order to prevent
forced repatriation from reoccurring.

"What we want is an improvement in government policies
regarding the protection of and the procedures to send migrant
workers abroad," said the lawyer representing the plaintiffs,
Rita Olivia of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute.

A total of 53 migrant workers signed the lawsuit on behalf of
those expelled from Malaysia after that country imposed a new
immigration act. The expelled workers had to travel to the East
Kalimantan town of Nunukan, which borders Malaysia, to apply for
work documents.

Presiding judge Andi Samsan Nganro adjourned the hearing of
the lawsuit until next week. -- JP