Illegal Dispatch of Indonesian Migrant Workers to Malaysia Foiled

A banner of popular Malaysian childrens cartoon characters Upin and Ipin is seen during a protest in front of the Malaysian Ambassadors residence in Jakarta on September 22, 2010 to condemn the abuse of Indonesian maids by Malaysian employers. Incensed by the latest case of rape and torture of an Indonesian domestic worker in Malaysia, protesters besieged Ambassador Syed Munshe Afdzaruddins house and demanded he leave Indonesia within two days.

Surabaya police managed to foil eight Indonesian migrant workers from leaving for Malaysia Thursday night. The migrant workers mostly coming from Pamekasan, Madura, had been examined by Surabaya police after their car was stopped while heading for Juanda airport.

"We have received information that a group of Indonesian migrant workers were illegally leaving for Malaysia. Police personnel intercepted the truck carrying the migrant workers when it was entering Suramadu bridge from Surabaya," chief detective of the Surabaya police adjunct senior commissioner Anom Wibowo said. The eight migrant workers were Samhari, Hosen, Mahfud, Jumali, Jubri, Anwar, Karimullah, and Suhri. They had been promised a job in Malaysia with a salary of Rp4.5 million per month. Anom said the illegal migrant workers were about to leave for Malaysia not in the name of a recruitment agency (PJTKI), but on the recommendation of a private person. "Each of the migrant workers had to pay Rp3.8 million allegedly for the tickets, passports, and administration requirements," Anom pointed out. In the case, he added, two people had been arrested, namely ZAR (38), of Bajang village, Pamekasan, Madura, and SUP (35), of Tropodo, Waru, Sidoarjo.

[source : Kampas]