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overnor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo has publicly displayed his support for Satinah, a female Indonesian migrant worker from Semarang regency in Central Java, who is facing death penalty in Saudi Arabia, having been convicted of murdering her employer.

Jokowi expressed his support by initiating a drive to raise the money required to pay the diya (financial compensation paid to a victim'€™s relatives), which was set by the family of Satinah'€™s former employer, Nura Al Gharib.

Satinah was charged with the murder of her female employer in Gaseem, Saudi Arabia, as well as the theft of 37,970 riyals (US$10,125), in June 2007.

Satinah reportedly confessed to the crimes and was sent to prison in Gaseem in 2009 until her appeal in 2010, after which she was sentenced to death. Satinah was originally due to be executed in August 2011, but the date was postponed three times; first to December 2011, then to December 2012 and then to June 2013.

Members of the Al Garib family had said they would accept an apology if the Indonesian government paid compensation of 10 million riyals. After negotiations, the diya was reduced to 7 million riyals. So far, 4 million riyals have been collected.

'€œWe are still short of Rp 9 billion [$788,609]. Today, I call on all of you to lend a hand and help our sister, Satinah,'€ Jokowi said at City Hall, while symbolically placing Rp 10,000 into the charity box, which has been provided by Migrant Care.

Migrant Care chairwoman Anis Hidayah declined to reveal the actual amount of money donated by the governor.

Jokowi also urged the government to stop sending Indonesian workers to countries who had no written agreements with Indonesia.

'€œUnskilled workers are at risk of domestic violence and they are unable to voice their rights. We have to protect them by not sending them unprepared,'€ Jokowi said, pointing out that he would tighten labor export permit regulations in Jakarta.

Rieke Diah Pitaloka, who is a member of the House of Representatives'€™ Commission IX overseeing manpower, pointed out that paying a diya should not be the only solution in such cases.

'€œThe government should provide proper legal assistance, something that Satinah did not get in 2007,'€ the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician said.

Rieke played down speculation that the governor'€™s gesture was part of his campaign to attract support for his presidential bid in July.

'€œIf you were Satinah, wouldn'€™t you hope for support from someone like Jokowi?'€ she said.

According to Migrant Care, 265 Indonesian migrant workers based in countries including Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, are on death row, having been convicted of crimes that include murdering their employers.