Hundreds of Indonesian Workers Face Death Penalty in Malaysia

TEMPO.CO, Ponorogo - A total 126 Indonesian Migrant Workers are facing the death penalty in Malaysia, according to Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, director for the protection of Indonesian nationals and legal aid at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

“The government is looking for solutions to address the issue,” Iqbal said at the Ponorogo Legislative Council (DPRD) on Thursday, February 4, 2016.

Iqbal suggested that issues with Indonesian migrant workers could be addressed by consultation, legal and diplomatic efforts. Institutions involved in conducting the efforts include the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Manpower Ministry and non-governmental organizations (NGO).

Over the last few years, the institutions had been cooperating to save migrant workers from the capital sentence. Iqbal revealed that a total of 282 migrant workers in Malaysia had been saved from the death penalty in the period of 2013-2015.

Migrant Institute Executive Director Adi Candra Utama said that drugs cases entangling migrant workers were caused by domestic issues. Based on investigations, Adi added, age manipulation cases were commonly found.

“The [data] manipulation occurs starting from the lowest level (from the village),” Adi said.

The internal factor had resulted in 80 percent of migrant workers’ issues. Meanwhile, the external factors accounted for 20 percent of migrant worker cases.

“We need to reform the system from the top to provide better protection for migrant workers,” Adi suggested.

NOFIKA DIAN NUGROHO