RI women work in S. Arabia for religious reason: Mien
RI women work in S. Arabia for religious reason: Mien
JAKARTA (JP): Religious motivation is the strongest reason
364,084 Indonesian Moslem workers, mostly women, choose to work
in Saudi Arabia, a minister said yesterday.
State Minister of Women's Roles Mien Sugandhi said the women
could earn three times more in Hong Kong or Singapore.
Most women who work in Saudi Arabia do so as house maids on
two-year contracts.
"Their main motivation for working there is to enable them to
perform their Haj pilgrim and Umroh (minor haj)," Mien said after
reporting to President Soeharto at Merdeka Palace on her recent
trip to Myanmar, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.
Mien said the biggest group of Indonesian workers in Saudi
Arabia was in Riyadh where there were 100,502 workers, followed
by Jeddah with 83,936, Mecca 82,470, Khobar and Damman 50,075,
Medina 31,500 and Thaif 15,600 workers.
Indonesian bank cashiers and nurses earn the most, about Saudi
Real 2,500 (US$583), while domestic workers and drivers earn only
about SR600.
Mien visited Myanmar from Sept. 14 to Sept. 16; Vietnam from
Sept. 16 to Sept. 18; and Saudi Arabia from Sept. 18 to Sept. 24.
Mien sparked controversy in February this year when she
reportedly said that hundreds of Indonesian teenagers had been
sent to work as prostitutes in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabian Ambassador Abdullah Abdulrahman Alim denied her
allegation.
"The law in our country is very strict, it is impossible that
we would let such immoral activities develop," he said at the
time.
Mien later said journalists had misquoted her.
A long-time resident of Saudi Arabia, however, confirmed that
there were Indonesian prostitutes in the country.
After her visit to Saudi Arabia, Mien concluded that the
biggest problem faced by workers there was employers refusing to
pay workers on the grounds that they gave unsatisfactory service.
Saudi Arabian employers were often disappointed with the
quality of Indonesian workers' skills and their poor knowledge of
Arabian tradition and language.
"There is no effective system for monitoring our workers
abroad," Mien said.
She said Indonesian workers had contributed US$1.87 trillion
in foreign exchange to Indonesia in the last three years of the
current Sixth Five-year Development Program Planning.
Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief earlier said that there were
1.95 million Indonesians working overseas as of March this year.
They earned an average monthly wage of $300 he said.
Mien said Indonesian workers were often given inappropriate
training prior to their overseas postings.(prb)