Indonesia might halt sending workers to Saudi Arabia over maid killing

[News_Editor]

Indonesia might halt sending workers to Saudi Arabia over maid killing

2010-11-20 00:42:04 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Indonesia on Friday announced that its government is considering putting a hold on dispatching workers to Saudi Arabia as international outrage has surrounded the case of a tortured Indonesian maid, officials said.

"A moratorium on export of manpower to Saudi Arabia may be the solution to the problem of violence against our workers. But the decision will be made after a thorough evaluation of the happenings," said Suhartono, a Manpower Ministry spokesman.

Sumiati binti Mustapa Salan, 23, of Dompo, Nusa Tengara Barat (NTB), migrated to Saudi Arabia in search work, but her case has caused international outrage as it highlights the human rights violations suffered by many Indonesian migrants in the middle east.

Sumiati was brutally tortured by the Khaled al-Salem Khamimisering family who hired her as her face shows several deep cuts on her lips, believed to be done with scissors. According to local media, she also had pieces of her skin cut off of her head and her body showed iron burns. The latest reports indicated she was stable at a local hospital.

In addition, recent reports revealed the killing of Kikim Komalasari, another Indonesian maid, in Abha, Saudi Arabia. Her employer later dumped her body into a garbage disposal. The body was found last week and showed that her neck was slashed and cuts were found throughout her whole body.

Earlier, during a meeting with several government leaders, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said there were at present a total of 3,271,584 Indonesian migrant workers overseas with 4,385 cases of maltreatment including acts of violence and sexual harassment, state-run Antara news agency reported.

"Some have been denied their salaries. Some are overworked, have personal problems, have fallen ill or even experienced physical and or sexual abuses," Yudhoyono said. "The total number of these troubled migrant workers is 4,385.â€

"The percentage of maltreatment against our migrant workers is 0.01 percent but anyway we have to make sure they have protection and proper treatment in accordance with their working contracts," the Indonesian President added.

On Thursday, President Yudhoyono ordered the State Minister for Women and Child Protection Linda Agum Gumelar to travel to Saudi Arabia in order to oversee the investigation into the cases.

Meanwhile, NTB governor Zainul Majdi imposed a moratorium on local migrant workers, which stops the region from sending its female domestic workers to Saudi Arabia.

"This moratorium is an assertion from the local administration, which also pushes for the central government to take action to stop abuse of Indonesian migrant workers, especially those from NTB," Zainul told Kompas.

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