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senior lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lambasted the government failing to protect a migrant worker left to die in front of a mosque in Saudi Arabia last month.

“The case of Jamilah binti Emang is strong evidence that the government has never cared about migrant workers, especially their protection during their employment,” lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari, a member of House Commission III overseeing legal affairs, said on Tuesday.

The body of Jamilah was still in the morgue of King Abdulaziz Hospital in Jeddah, awaiting someone to repatriate it, Eva said.

Jamilah was admitted to the hospital after an Indonesian citizen found her near death at the gate of Masjidil Haram Grand Mosque in Mecca, about 400 kilometers from her employer’s home, Eva said. Jamilah said she had been dumped at the mosque because she was sick.

“According to the information from the hospital, Jamilah underwent intensive treatment for tuberculosis and malnutrition on Dec. 12, 2011. The medical team could not save her life,” Eva said.

 Jamilah, formerly of Cianjur, West Java, departed for Saudi Arabia in 2006, sponsored by PT Al Hijaz Indo Jaya, a labor supply company located on Jl. Dewi Satika, East Jakarta.

Eva delivered an official letter to the foreign minister and the Indonesian consulate general in Jeddah, asking that Jamilah’s body be returned to Indonesia as soon as possible.

Jamilah’s case was a strong rebuke for the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry and the Overseas Labor Placement and Protection (BNP2TKI), Eva said, given that both bodies have claimed to improve protections given to Indonesian migrant workers.

“The consulate-general is ignoring the case. This is the fruit of the government’s incompetence in giving adequate information, training and supervision, since the workers’ were recruited from their home villages,” Eva said.

Migrant Care, which advocates for migrant workers, condemned the government’s handling of Jamilah’s case, calling on the President to reform the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry and to dissolve the BNP2TKI.

“More and more workers will die or be killed overseas if no measures are taken to mend the ministry’s performance” Migrant Care representative Nur Muhammad said.

Nur warned that Indonesian migrant workers might face even worse abuse given their lack of adequate training and the inadequate supervision and monitoring of worker recruitment and placement companies.

Contacted separately, Abdullah Dahlan of Indonesia Corruption Watch and University of Indonesia political analyst Cecep Effendy agreed that Jamilah’s case evinced poor performance and budget corruption at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry.

Meanwhile, Rusjdi Basalamah, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Labor Exporters’ Association (PJTIKI), defended the Manpower Ministry and the BNP2TKI.

“If Jamilah was not found not fit and did not meet all of the requirements, she would not have been sent abroad,” he said.