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Jakarta. The case of 63 Indonesian women who were tricked into practical slavery by an unscrupulous Malaysian businessman is prompting calls for the government to offer stronger protection and legal assistance to Indonesians working abroad.

Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, from the Golkar Party, called on the government to change its approach for helping workers facing legal problems in Malaysia.

“The government must change the policy and provide the best lawyers to defend our citizens living there,” Priyo said.

He said the constitution mandates that the government defend all its citizens, no matter what country they are in.

Priyo’s statement came in response to reports from Malaysia about the rescue of 63 women from the house of businessman Lee In Chiew, 49, in the country’s Perlis state in July.

The women, none of whom had working permits or visas, were forced to work long hours cleaning houses, often without pay, for over two years. Eventually, three were able to escape and call for help.

Agus Triyanto, labor attache at the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, said that eight of the women had already returned home, while the other 55 were now staying at a shelter, waiting to return.

“They are having trouble with their documents, so they still cannot return home,” Agus explained.

“We are now trying to approach Malaysian immigration [authorities] so that they will be allowed to go home,” he said.

Pramono Anung, another deputy House speaker, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said Indonesian diplomats must retain their conviction while defending the interests of the country and migrant workers during negotiations with Malaysia.

“And don’t forget to ensure that the Malaysian authorities honor any decisions we agree upon. We won’t accept only a written agreement — it must be implemented,” he said.

Lee was charged on Monday with multiple counts of human trafficking at a district court in Perlis, according to his lawyer, K. Kumarathiraviam. Lee faces up to 20 years in prison on some of the counts.

“They didn’t report any torture, but they said they had unlimited working hours,” Kumarathiraviam said of the 63 women involved.

Kumarathiraviam said he believed it was the biggest case of alleged human trafficking ever to hit Malaysian courts. No plea was recorded, and the next court date is set for Oct. 13, he said.

According to PDI-P lawmaker Rieke Dyah Ayu Pitaloka, passport fees from workers heading to Malaysia earned the government at least Rp 30 billion ($3.33 million) a year.

But he said the annual legal assistance budget of the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur was just Rp 4 billion.

Indonesia suspended sending workers to Malaysia in 2009, waiting on a new migrant workers agreement between the countries.

The deal has been repeatedly postponed due to various sticking points in negotiations. But that hasn’t stopped Indonesians from heading to Malaysia anyway.

“Despite the moratorium, there are still many Indonesians who insist on going to Malaysia through the back door, because there are opportunities there,” said Nisma Abdullah, a coordinator at the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union.

Nisma said that the number of Indonesians entering Malaysia illegally makes monitoring human trafficking difficult.