Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said here Tuesday that Malaysia
would not let isolated cases of violence on Indonesian citizens harm its long-standing
bilateral relations with Indonesia, or the contributions some 1.5 million Indonesian
migrant workers have made to both countries.
<p>"What is important is that we take action to eliminate abuses and violence
against migrant workers, and that we have the laws to prevent these abuses from
taking place," he told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on 50 years
of Indonesia-Malaysia relations at the Shangri-La Hotel in Jakarta.</p>
<p>The seminar was jointly organized by the Centre for Strategic and International
Studies in Indonesia and the Institute of Strategic and International Studies
in Malaysia.</p>
<p>Hamid Albar said his government has investigated all of the reported abuse
cases, including the incident involving Indonesia’s chief karate referee, Donald
Peter Luther Kolopita.</p>
<p>Four plainclothes Malaysian police officers jumped from a van and tried to
arrest Donald last Friday in the town of Nilai. Donald allegedly resisted and
was forcibly taken into custody.</p>
<p>He suffered extensive injuries to his body and face in the incident.</p>
<p>In protest, Indonesia’s karate team, which was there to participate in an Asian
karate championship, boycotted the competition and returned home immediately.</p>
<p>The incident occurred just days after an Indonesian maid was allegedly tortured
to death by a Malaysian couple.</p>
<p>The 24-year-old maid, identified as Kunarsih from Demak, Central Java, was
found dead in her room two weeks ago after suffering blunt force injuries to
the chest and abdomen.</p>
<p>The couple has been detained by police pending an investigation.</p>
<p>Abuse by Malaysian employers against Indonesian migrant workers has claimed
numerous lives in recent years. This year alone, 21 Indonesian workers have
died after suffering at the hands of their employers.</p>
<p>Of the approximately 1.5 million Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, more
than 300,000 are employed as maids.</p>
<p>While Malaysian officials have claimed the mistreatment of domestic helpers
is not widespread, some 1,500 Indonesian maids run away from their employers
every month, often because of abuse or dissatisfaction with long working hours,
a lack of freedom or unpaid salaries.</p>
<p>Kunarsih’s death came a day after another Indonesian maid climbed out the window
of a 17th-story apartment in Kuala Lumpur to escape her employer, who allegedly
choked her and beat her with a rattan stick.</p>
<p>In June, the spectacular escape of 33-year-old Ceriyati Dapin, an Indonesian
housekeeper who made headlines when she used a makeshift rope to flee a 15th-story
apartment after allegedly having been beaten and threatened with death by her
employer, highlighted the fate of many Indonesian workers abroad.</p>
<p>Hamid Albar said Indonesia should see the problem in the wider picture, and
not jump to conclusions based on a few abuse cases highlighted by the media.</p>
<p>All the speakers at the seminar, however, warned that besides border issues,
worker problems could become a stumbling block for Indonesia and Malaysia relations
if not addressed quickly and properly.</p>
<p><i>Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20070829.B09&irec=8</i>
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