The President said “all out diplomacy” would be deployed against non-transparent countries to protect the interests of Indonesian workers.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said that “uncooperative, non-transparent” countries were generally in the Middle East, and included Saudi Arabia.  

Marty summoned Saudi Arabian Ambassador Abdurrahman Mohammad Amen Al-Khayyat on Friday for the third time this week on yet another incident involving a migrant worker. He previously summoned the ambassador twice and sent a letter to the Kingdom’s foreign minister following the case of 23-year-old Sumiati, a West Nusa Tenggara resident who was allegedly abused by her Saudi Arabian employer.

East Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Governor Zainul Majdi imposed a moratorium Friday on sending female domestic workers from the province to Saudi Arabia following the news on Sumiati. Sumiati was reportedly tortured and sustained cuts around her mouth that suggested she was attacked with scissors. She also reportedly has burns that may have been caused by a hot iron.

“Today [Friday], we’ll also call the Saudi Arabian ambassador, again. It is not because of the case of Ibu Sumiati, but another case that was just revealed last night [Thursday],” Marty said, referring to Kikim Komalasari, another Indonesian migrant worker who was found dead in garbage bin.

Kikim’s neck was reportedly slashed, and she also had cuts to the rest of her body.

Marty said it had taken longer than usual for the Kingdom’s police to inform the Indonesian Embassy about Kikim’s death because she was previously misidentified as a Bangladeshi.

“Saudi Arabia and Middle Eastern countries in general don’t recognize [bilateral] MoUs in the informal sector. They only want to sign ones on the formal sector,” Marty said.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar cited Saudi Arabia and Jordan as two countries Indonesia had not yet managed to sign good agreements on migrant workers with.

The result of the review might lead to a decision to halt the sending of workers to these countries, he added.

President Yudhoyono also said the government was mulling the prospect of equipping Indonesian migrant workers with cell phones to help them reach officers more easily when they face problems.

“Based on our experiences, we often receive reports on what has happened with our migrant workers [after it] is too late,” the President said.

Muhaimin explained afterward only migrant workers sent to Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan had been equipped with cell phones.

“Cell phones should be a means of an open communication system included in the MoUs. Agents abroad must provide the phones, and the employers should not be allowed to take them [away],” the minister said.

Yudhoyono said currently about 4,300 Indonesian workers overseas are facing various hardships, ranging from being denied their salaries, overwork, and physical and even sexual abuse. Approximately 3.27 million Indonesians are now registered as migrant workers.

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