Migrants send home US$94 million

SEMARANG: Remittance from Central Javanese migrant workers to their parents at home amounted to over Rp 892 billion (US$94 million) last year, or about 40 percent less than in previous years', an official said.

Head of the provincial manpower office Mudji Hartono said on Friday that the migrants work in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Abu Dabi, Antara reported.

Some of them work in formal, while others in non-formal professions like housemaids, laborers and construction workers.

The money was sent through banks such as BNI, BRI, Bank Mandiri, Bukopin, Bank Niaga, and BCA, or post offices.

In 1999, the remittance of migrant workers amounted to Rp 1.3 trillion.

The total amount of money sent home dropped along with a decrease in the number of migrant workers. In 2000 Central Java sent 30,414 workers abroad while in 1999 the number was 35,821. (sim)