Anwar Swears to Protect Dignity of Indonesian Migrant Workers

Millions of Indonesian citizens work in Malaysia. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has promised that improvements will be made this year in the placement and protection of migrant workers.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

President Joko Widodo talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the Presidential Palace, Bogor, West Java, Monday (09/01/2023). This is Anwar Ibrahim's first visit as prime minister of Malaysia after being inaugurated on November 24.

BOGOR, KOMPAS – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo have both committed to stepping up protection for Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. The two leaders have repeatedly discussed thisissue for years, but it has yet to bear any fruit.

President Jokowi welcomed Prime Minister Anwar at Bogor Palace in West Java on Monday (9/1/2023). One of the issues discussed at their meeting was Indonesian migrant workers.

In a joint press statement following the meeting, Anwar stated that he fully understood the issue of Indonesian migrant workers and its sensitiveness to the Indonesian people and government. He related his experience of being in prison with Indonesian migrant workers to illustrate his understanding.

During his time as an opposition leader, Anwar was jailed repeatedly on various charges. “And I know for a fact because I was imprisoned there too. I heard at the time how they [Indonesian migrant workers] were flogged. And I don’t think this is humane,” said Anwar.

Also read:

> Malaysia Acknowledges Indonesia's Important Role

> Malaysia Fixes Management of Migrant Workers

Since 2022, continued Anwar, caning had ceased as punishment for Indonesian migrant workers. However, it mustn’t end there. “The resolution needs to be more comprehensive so that workers at lower levels can be protected as well,” he said.

To that end, Anwar vowed to ensure that recruiters of migrant workers served only as facilitators. This was to ensure ease of recruitment and that agents did not make excessive profit or pressure migrant workers.

He added that digitalizing the recruitment and placement process was crucial in this context, as such a system would cut bureaucratic red tape and minimize the involvement of recruiting agents.

Anwar’s visit to Jakarta was his first overseas visit after he was installed as the Malaysian prime minister on 24 Nov. 2022, resuming the tradition maintained by his predecessors since June 2018.

To resolve in 2023

At a public lecture in Jakarta after the bilateral meeting at Bogor Palace, Anwar promised to improve the placement and protection of migrant workers this year. Digitalization would also streamline the process and was expected to cut costs. At present, placement fees were very high and borne by Indonesian migrant workers.

“Their wages are cut; wages that are already small,” said Anwar.

In addition to digitalization, the Anwar administration is also focusing on migrant worker management at Malaysia’s home ministry, whose minister of North Sumatran descent, Saifudin Nasution, has been tasked with handling the issue.

Their wages are cut; wages that are already small.

“The issue is being handled by minister Nasution,” said Anwar, stressing that the country was serious about managing the migrant worker issue as well as highlighting the close ties between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Anwar emphasized that the migrant workers issue was not about siding with either Malaysia or Indonesia, and that resolving it involved siding with humanity and justice.

NINA SUSILO

Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim and President Joko Widodo planted trees together during their official visit to Indonesia, Monday (9/1/2023). Merawan tree (Hopea odorata) became the tree of friendship between the two.

President Jokowi expressed his appreciation for Anwar’s commitment.

“I welcome the commitment of Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim in providing protection for Indonesian migrant workers. I really hope that we can run the one-channel system for the recruitment and placement of Indonesian migrant workers together,” the President said in the joint press statement.

The President also said he had requested Anwar to build a community learning center in Malaysia. This facility would aim to fulfill the right to education of Indonesian migrant workers’ children.

Syndicate

Migrant Care executive director Wahyu Susilo said one of the challenges in resolving the migrant worker issue in Malaysia was the involvement of human trafficking syndicates. Many parties regarded Indonesian migrant workers as a commodity they could profit from. These syndicates were spread across Malaysia and Indonesia. Thus, improvements have to be made not only in Malaysia, and Indonesia must also be serious about eradicating the trafficking network at home.

Zainul Arifin, cordinator of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Forum (FPMI), said a new fee system would be implemented in early 2023.

Prospective migrant workers must apply for work visas through a third party at a cost of Rp 1.1 million, and would no longer be able to process a visa at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta for Rp 50,000. This fee rate was not in line with the agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia. In fact, the relevant memorandum of understanding (MoU) stated that all recruitment costs must be borne by prospective employers. Prospective migrant workers should not be charged. All fees must be paid within Malaysian jurisdiction, while prospective migrant workers must make their payments in Indonesia.

Anisa (42), not her real name, worked as a domestic worker in Malaysia in 2018-2021. When contacted in Surabaya, the mother of two admitted that she had not been protected and was exploited while she was in Malaysia.

Also read:

> Indonesia, Malaysia Forging Neighborly Ties

> Malaysia Approves Draft Workers Protection MOU

For example, she did not get any days off. “The working hours were unclear, too. [I worked] from morning to night, sometimes until midnight. I couldn’t go anywhere, either. I was only at that house for three years. I could only leave the house when my employer asked me to go with them,” recalled Anisa, who was paid a wage of Rp 3-5 million per month.

Anisa is only one of millions of Indonesian migrant workers to take the illegal route. Many take this risky path as a faster way to get a job. “I need to work and earn money quickly. I have friends that went through official agents and waited nine months in Wonosobo,” she said.

According to the National Labor Force Survey in August 2022, the workforce totals 143.72 million people, with an open unemployment rate of 5.86 percent (8.42 million people) as of August 2022.

I need to work and earn money quickly.

Apart from the issue of Indonesian migrant workers, President Jokowi and Prime Minister Anwar also discussed five other issues.

The first was the interest among Malaysian investors in helping to develop Indonesia’s new capital city in Kalimantan. The second referred to the land borders of the Sebatik and Sinapad Sesai segments as well as agreements on territorial seas in the Sulawesi Sea and in the southern area of the Malacca Strait. The two leaders plan to sign a MoU this year.

The third dealt with Malaysia’s support for the Indonesia-Singapore Flight Information Region agreement, while the fourth concerned strengthening cooperation and institutions to expand the palm oil market and combat palm oil discrimination. The fifth and last issue was strengthening ASEAN.

This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia.