Thejakartapost.com - A senior government official tasked with saving migrant workers who are on death row abroad made the shocking allegation that some of the workers, especially females, were to blame for their own misfortune.
Head of the government task force on migrant workers Maftuh Basyuni (Partai Demokrat) said that some Indonesian migrant workers were flirtatious with their employers, causing the latter to sexually harass them.
“Some of these workers are extremely flirtatious and it always takes two to tango. Maybe they are driven by their desires but the migrant workers’ attitudes are surprising,” Maftuh told a seminar in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Later The Jakarta Post approached Maftuh to confirm his statement and the former religious affairs minister and former ambassador to Saudi Arabia maintained that his comments were justified.
“Because of their flirtatious behavior, the spouses of their employers get jealous and abuse them,” said Maftuh.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono established the task force in July 7, 2011, to provide assistance to migrant workers abroad facing legal troubles.
Yudhoyono also imposed additional duties on the task force to provide the maximum legal assistance to any Indonesians facing the death penalty overseas.
The remit for the task force expired on Jan. 7 this year but Yudhoyono decided to extend it until July 7.
There are 6.5 million Indonesians currently working overseas, some of whom are embroiled in legal problems.
Despite nearing the expiration of its term, the task force is still in the dark over how many migrant workers are in legal trouble abroad.
“The primary function of the task force is to collect data on how many Indonesian migrant workers are on death row. But this has been the biggest problem for us,” task force spokesman Humphrey R. Djemat admitted.
Humphrey said that currently there were 206 migrant workers who might be facing the death penalty abroad.
He claimed that of these 206 cases the task force had managed to free 72 migrant workers from death row.
Data from the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, however, says that currently there are 212 workers on death row with 37 acquittals.
The task force, in a press statement made available to the Post, said that the number of migrant workers in death row was 227.
Countries that have handed down death sentences to Indonesian workers include China, Malaysia, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said the government was drafting a regulation that would end the practice of sending domestic workers abroad by 2017.
“We will do our best to provide comprehensive training so that they will be ready to enter more competitive industries when the time comes,” Muhaimin said on Tuesday.
A number of NGOs condemned Maftuh’s statement and demanded an apology.
“We urge the task force head to apologize publicly, especially to all those migrant workers, and their families, who are currently facing the death sentence,” Thaufiek Zulbahary of Solidaritas Perempuan (Women’s Solidarity) said in a joint statement issued on Tuesday.
Head of the government task force on migrant workers Maftuh Basyuni (Partai Demokrat) said that some Indonesian migrant workers were flirtatious with their employers, causing the latter to sexually harass them.
“Some of these workers are extremely flirtatious and it always takes two to tango. Maybe they are driven by their desires but the migrant workers’ attitudes are surprising,” Maftuh told a seminar in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Later The Jakarta Post approached Maftuh to confirm his statement and the former religious affairs minister and former ambassador to Saudi Arabia maintained that his comments were justified.
“Because of their flirtatious behavior, the spouses of their employers get jealous and abuse them,” said Maftuh.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono established the task force in July 7, 2011, to provide assistance to migrant workers abroad facing legal troubles.
Yudhoyono also imposed additional duties on the task force to provide the maximum legal assistance to any Indonesians facing the death penalty overseas.
The remit for the task force expired on Jan. 7 this year but Yudhoyono decided to extend it until July 7.
There are 6.5 million Indonesians currently working overseas, some of whom are embroiled in legal problems.
Despite nearing the expiration of its term, the task force is still in the dark over how many migrant workers are in legal trouble abroad.
“The primary function of the task force is to collect data on how many Indonesian migrant workers are on death row. But this has been the biggest problem for us,” task force spokesman Humphrey R. Djemat admitted.
Humphrey said that currently there were 206 migrant workers who might be facing the death penalty abroad.
He claimed that of these 206 cases the task force had managed to free 72 migrant workers from death row.
Data from the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, however, says that currently there are 212 workers on death row with 37 acquittals.
The task force, in a press statement made available to the Post, said that the number of migrant workers in death row was 227.
Countries that have handed down death sentences to Indonesian workers include China, Malaysia, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said the government was drafting a regulation that would end the practice of sending domestic workers abroad by 2017.
“We will do our best to provide comprehensive training so that they will be ready to enter more competitive industries when the time comes,” Muhaimin said on Tuesday.
A number of NGOs condemned Maftuh’s statement and demanded an apology.
“We urge the task force head to apologize publicly, especially to all those migrant workers, and their families, who are currently facing the death sentence,” Thaufiek Zulbahary of Solidaritas Perempuan (Women’s Solidarity) said in a joint statement issued on Tuesday.
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