Two Malaysians involved in women-trafficking: Envoy
Two Malaysians involved in women-trafficking: Envoy
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Hadi Warayadi Al Hadar said
that two Malaysians were allegedly involved the trafficking of
women from Indonesia who were forcibly employed as sex workers in
the neighboring country.
Speaking at the office of the North Sumatra governor after
attending a seminar on Advocacy and Awareness of Women and Child
Trafficking in Indonesia, Al Hadar identified the Malaysians only
as A Hong and A Long.
"They both were difficult to apprehend since they often
changes their identity cards. They would always pose as tourists
when seeking out potential victims," he said on Friday.
The women are usually enticed by the two members of an
international syndicate by an empty promise that they will be
given a good job with a high salary in Malaysia.
Thousands of Indonesian women have become commercial sex
workers in Malaysia but Al Hadar did not mention the number.
The ambassador said the embassy has a list of Indonesians
involved in the syndicate, four of whom are from North Sumatra.
"We got the names from the victims who managed to flee and
report to the embassy," he said, declining to mention the
suspects.
Lia, 16, is one of the women who came to the embassy after
running away from her workplace. She was promised a job in a
fancy restaurant in Kuala Lumpur but instead was forced to be a
commercial sex worker.
"I was often abused and they threatened to kill me if I
refused to serve (male) guests," she said. She was told that if
she wanted to leave the syndicate she would have to pay them RM 3
million (US$786,600) in compensation.
State Minister for Women's Empowerment Sri Redjeki Soemaryoto
said that women and child-trafficking in Indonesia had to be
handled seriously.
Indonesia is rated as the world's third worst country in its
commitment to law enforcement on the issue. An estimated 230,000
women and child sex workers have been trafficked throughout the
country.
The government is currently working on a bill on the issue.
Chairman of House of Representatives Commission VII on
manpower and social affairs, Posman Tobing, said the House would
support the government's move in eradicating people-trafficking.
Meanwhile, the North Sumatra provincial administration held
talks with Al Hadar and Malaysian Consul General in Medan Mohd
Yusoff Abubakar to arrange the deportation of 98,000 illegal
migrant workers from Indonesia through Belawan port in the
province.
The deportation will be conducted in phases and it was
scheduled to start on Saturday.
North Sumatra Governor Rizal Nurdin urged the embassy not to
deport all the troubled workers through Belawan port but through
the ports closest to their hometowns.
He did not object to the workers's deportation through the
province provided the central government gave funds to send them
back to their home villages in other provinces.
He said that only a small number of the illegal migrant
workers came from the province.
He emphasized that North Sumatra is currently dealing with
many problems including the increasing number of Acehnese
refugees after the war, a shortage of places to accommodate the
refugees and a limited provincial budget.