TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sending of Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) to Saudi Arabia has sharply declined since moratorium on sending TKI to Middle Eastern countries was imposed a few months ago. Data from the Manpower Ministry showed as many as 367.719 workers have been sent to Arab since 2010. However, the number has declined. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, there were only 45.363, 44.298 and 15.392 people sent respectively.

The Manpower Ministry’s director general of workers’ training and plotting, Hery Sudarmanto, said the ban on sending TKI to Middle Eastern countries aims to protect TKI from violence and human rights violations because Middle Eastern countries still adopt kafalah culture that prioritizes employer’s privacy.

“So, if something happens to TKI there, the police can’t just get in because the employer is king,” said Hery on Wednesday, December 23.

Hery said the kafalah culture caused difficulty in monitoring TKI. One of the examples is the execution of TKI. According to Hery, many TKI in Arab are tortured and not paid. “We don’t want that to happen again,” he said.

Previously, four countries were closed for TKI; they are Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Kuwait. However, the number of countries have since risen to 19. “We avoid countries in conflict to prevent other threats,” he said.


DEVY ERNIS