Yudhoyono complains over KL's slow response

JAKARTA: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has complained about Malaysia's "slow" legal processing of cases of alleged abuse of Indonesian migrant workers.

Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said here Thursday that while many abuse cases against Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia had been revealed and the alleged perpetrators were arrested, many of them remained unsolved because of "slow" legal proceedings.

"*Malaysian authorities* have often said there is a backlog. They say many people are involved in the cases, which makes it difficult for to process immediately," Dino told the press.

"And this is what the President and the Indonesian government have been complaining about. Sometimes the sentences for the criminals are too light, and then there is a backlog, so the legal process is prolonged," he added.

Dino cited an example of 18 pending alleged abuse cases discussed by Yudhoyono and then Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last year. The Malaysian judiciary had only issued a verdict for one of the cases, namely against Nirmala Bonat, whose former employer was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment but has since filed an appeal.

The Indonesian government had urged Malaysia to immediately settle unsolved cases, and Yudhoyono had ordered the Indonesian Embassy and consulate generals in Malaysia to "innovate" in ways to protect the rights of Indonesian citizens in the country, Dino said.

Dino made the announcement following this week's news of the death of Munti, an Indonesian domestic worker from East Java who was allegedly abused by her employers in Malaysia.

Malaysia's Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a press statement it "strongly condemned" any abuse of any workers, and that it punish perpetrators to the full extent of the law. - JP