JAKARTA, Oct 31 — Indonesia wants cases where its domestic workers have been abused in Malaysia to be resolved promptly as these could cause “irritation” in bilateral ties.
That remark by Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah comes after a case of a 47-year-old Indonesian maid who died horribly after she was allegedly abused by her Malaysian employers.
Sugar-cane seller A. Murugan, 35, was charged yesterday with the murder of maid Mantik Hani, who had been found in a toilet, badly beaten up, on Oct 20. She died of her injuries while in hospital.
Murugan's 29-year-old wife, who was detained earlier, is on remand until next Tuesday, while his 56-year-old mother had her remand extended until Monday.
News of the death angered many Indonesians and led to a protest outside the Malaysian Embassy in south Jakarta on Wednesday. Embassy officials told protesters that Malaysia condemned the incident and had launched an immediate investigation into the case.
Another protest was held in front of Indonesia's Foreign Ministry complex by a group calling itself Indonesian Migrant Workers Supporters, to urge the government to do more to protect citizens working abroad.
They chanted: “Long live migrant workers. Close down Foreign Ministry.”
A group leader holding a megaphone shouted: “Listen to what we are saying. Don't just stand there and watch us like we are clowns.”
Teuku said Indonesia was deeply concerned about the abuse of its workers in Malaysia.
He said at a weekly press conference that Indonesia wanted Malaysia to share its conviction that such cases, if not resolved promptly, “would cause irritation in our bilateral relationship”.
He called Mantik's case “a torture that had led to death”. The abuse left her with bruises on her face and arms, as well as a serious wound on her leg. She was also dehydrated and malnourished.
She is believed to have worked for her employers for the past two months and to have been locked in the toilet for two days before she was discovered.
Police rescued her following a tip-off and Murugan turned himself in a day after her rescue. She was from the town of Jember in East Java.
In recent years, stories of the abuse of Indonesian maids in Malaysia and other countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, have occasionally made headlines in Indonesia.
In June, Indonesia stopped sending maids to Malaysia until tougher measures were implemented to protect its migrant workers there.
The government also acted when another Indonesian maid, Siti Hajar, was forced to run away from her employer's house in Malaysia after having had boiling water poured over her and having been repeatedly caned for almost three years.
In addition, Jakarta suspended indefinitely the movement of maids to Kuwait last month because of concerns over widespread abuse and exploitation by their employers. About 500 women — who say they have suffered beatings or been denied their pay — are currently being sheltered at the Indonesian Embassy in the oil-rich Gulf emirate. — Straits Times
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
