RI women workers detained in Malaysia

RI women workers detained in Malaysia

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister for Women's Roles Mien Sugandhi
expressed concern Tuesday over the fate of 432 Indonesian women
now detained by Malaysian immigration authorities for illegal
entry.

She blamed their detention on brokers who had promised the
women jobs in Malaysia and taken them there without proper
documents.

"The government should take strong action against those
brokers," she told a hearing of House Commission VIII on people's
welfare and health.

There are now 99,948 Indonesian women registered as workers in
Malaysia, 41,962 of them work in the informal sector.

The women in detention had sought work as servants.

"They may be able to find employment if... there are
Malaysians willing to hire them," Mien said.

Malaysian immigration authorities are detaining 2,033
Indonesians, including the women, at great cost.

"The Malaysian government may soon deport them, maybe to Riau
province which is the closest to Malaysia," Mien said.

"If deportations go ahead, and in great numbers, then
Indonesia must prepare to receive them, give them shelter and
return them to their respective hometowns," Mien was quoted by
Antara as saying.

More Indonesian women are heading overseas for work. According
to Mien's office, 3,221 women are registered as working in the
United Arab Emirates, 19,992 in Hong Kong and 21,000 in
Singapore.

Indonesian workers in Malaysia receive on average Rp 475,000
(US$187) a month, about Rp 600,000 in the United Arab Emirates,
Rp 1.1 million in Hong Kong and Rp 400,000 in Singapore.

The government has pledged to phase out the sending of
unskilled workers abroad, and stepped up efforts to send only
people with better skills. The reason for the stance was the
various complaints about poor treatment that Indonesian workers,
especially women, receive on the hand of their employers.

Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief had once admitted that the
fate of those women working in menial jobs "brought tears to our
face".

Mien promised to campaign to improve the workers' conditions.
Her office's programs include teaching prospective female workers
about labor laws, teaching them the language of destination
countries and opening bank accounts for them.

She said her office had also prepared inputs for the House of
Representatives' deliberation of the manpower bill.

Separately, women's rights activist Tati Krisnawaty said
government regulations on exporting labor were the root cause of
many labor problems.

"The philosophy underlying the regulations is that workers are
a trade commodity... and this leads to the denial of workers'
rights," Tati of Women's Solidarity for Human Rights said
Wednesday.

Unless this view changed Indonesian workers abroad would
continue to face the same problems, she said. She cited violence
and disputes with employers as among the most frequent problems
facing workers.

The latest, widely publicized case of abuse is on Hartarti, a
15-year-old servant, who was allegedly tortured last week by her
employer's wife and 13-year-old son in Singapore. (39/aan)