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Migrant Workers Agency Under Fire
Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Anita Rachman | June 22, 2011

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The National Board for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers should be held responsible for mishandling the case of an Indonesian woman who was beheaded in Saudi Arabia, legislators said on Tuesday.

The agency, also known as BNP2TKI, has the responsibility to ensure workers’ protection abroad and the agency has failed in fulfilling its main task, said Saan Mustopha, secretary of the Democrat faction at the House of Representatives.

He argued that the case of Ruyati, an Indonesian maid who was executed in Saudi Arabia without the knowledge of the agency and the embassy there, is an example of BNP2TKI’s negligence in protecting Indonesian workers abroad.

“The National Board for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers should be evaluated due to this incident,” Saan said.

“We’re completely willing to let the president decide if this calls for the evaluation of the leaders of the institution as a consequence.”

In light of Ruyati’s execution, which drew wide coverage in the Indonesian media, Saan said he had spoken to her immediate family.

According to Ruyati’s family, they received little information on her case last year but repeatedly asked the BNP2TKI and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assist in preventing her execution.

BNP2TKI provided a generic statement that the case was being processed, said Saan. It went on until the execution was carried out.

“This is purely a blunder from the BNP2TKI,” he said. “Ruyati’s report [from the consulate general in Jeddah] was not considered seriously.”

He went on to say the faction of the Democratic Party generally agreed that the BNP2TKI only took high-profile cases seriously.

Meanwhile, Commission I deputy chief Tubagus Hasanuddin from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) blames the agency for dodging the responsibility of paying the compensation money for another Indonesian maid named Darsem who is facing execution in July if the Rp 4.7 billion ($545,000) is not paid to the victim’s family.

On Monday the Foreign Affairs Ministry told the House of Representatives that it would cover the cost of compensation money despite the House’s suggestion to share the cost with BNP2TKI, saying that coordination between the two institutions might take too long and could result in missing the “blood money” deadline.

“So what exactly is BNP2TKI doing?” Tubagas said. “They should not just try to send workers abroad while neglecting their protection.”

In the House plenary session on Tuesday, the legislators issued several recommendations. First, they said, the government should put a moratorium on sending migrant workers to all Middle Eastern countries without any clear workers’ protection mechanism.

Next, the government should form a task force to maximize legal efforts in the cases of 303 Indonesian migrant workers that are facing the death penalty overseas, especially in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

Finally, it should issue an apology to Ruyati’s family and compensate them financially.

Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso called for the resignation of four ministers if the moratorium is not in place within three months.

He was referring to the Manpower and Transmigration minister, the Foreign Affairs minister, the Religious Affairs minister and the Social Affairs minister, as well as the head of BNP2TKI.

“They should work fast,” he said. “There have been many suggestions for them to just step down from their posts.”