Two RI workers escape death in S. Arabia

JAKARTA: Two Indonesian migrant workers convicted of killing their employer in Saudi Arabia with “black magic” have been pardoned, and will be sent home to Indonesia.

Wishnu Krisnamurthi, the spokesperson for the Indonesian embassy in Saudi Arabia, said the name of one of the workers was Emi, but did not name the other.

“The court has granted remission to Emi and the other worker, but it would take a long time to bring them back to Indonesia due to the Ramadhan holiday,” he said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

The Indonesian government imposed a moratorium on sending migrant workers to Saudia Arabia on Aug. 1, after 54-year-old Indonesian migrant worker Ruyati was beheaded by the Saudi Arabia government for murdering her employer.

Experts have said the policy could cost Indonesia Rp 2.7 trillion (US$3.1 billion) per year in lost foreign exchange from migrant worker remittances.

Wishnu said that the embassy had made progress in managing migrant workers since President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s visit to Saudi Arabia.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said that the Ministry had already created 3 million jobs to offset the impact of the moratorium.