183 Thousand Illegal PMIs In Saudi Arabia, DPR Highlights Conceding Labor Attaches

JAKARTA - Member of Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Nurhadi, highlighted the illegal entry of hundreds of thousands of Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) to Saudi Arabia in the midst of the moratorium on sending Indonesian workers to the Middle Eastern country. Nurhadi assessed that the labor attach (atnaker) in Saudi Arabia had conceded this issue.

Nurhadi said, since the implementation of the moratorium in 2015, as many as 183,000 PMIs have continued to illegally depart for Saudi Arabia, including 25,000 people throughout 2024.

"There is a moratorium that has clearly been moratorium, but how come there are still hundreds of thousands who managed to depart illegally? This means that there is a weak system, there is a serious breach!" said Nurhadi at the DPR Commission IX Working Meeting with the Minister for Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers/Head of BP2MI, Abdul Kadir Karding, at the Nusantara I Parliament Complex Building, Senayan, Jakarta, Monday, April 28.

Nurhadi also questioned the effectiveness of the supervisory function by labor attaches in Saudi Arabia. This is because the number of illegal PMIs that are desperate to depart reaches tens of thousands per year.

"If this is the fact, what exactly is the task and function of labor attaches in Saudi Arabia? How can you concede this much," said the NasDem legislator from the East Java VI electoral district.

Therefore, Nurhadi asked for an explanation regarding the most vulnerable rules to be broken. He questioned which rules have the potential for large amounts of non-procedural PMI shipments, even though there is already an official moratorium.

"How is it possible that in the midst of the moratorium that we have conceded for hundreds of thousands of PMIs for so many years? Once again, which rules are vulnerable so that they can be broken into? Because these illegal shipments continue to occur," said Nurhadi.

The member of the Commission in the DPR, whose work is related to employment, then mentioned the existence of 183,000 non-procedural PMIs who currently work in Saudi Arabia. Nurhadi also questioned the government's steps towards them if the moratorium on sending PMIs to Saudi Arabia was completely revoked.

"Regarding the 183,000 PMIs in Saudi Arabia uniprocedurally before this moratorium is lifted, what will happen to them? Can they immediately get protection? It is upgraded through legalizing with new rules?" he said.

As is known, the Government plans to revoke the moratorium on sending PMIs to Saudi Arabia. This discourse is accompanied by claims that Saudi Arabia opens quotas for 600,000 Indonesian workers with a salary guarantee of more than Rp. 6.5 million for each worker.

If the moratorium on sending PMIs to Saudi Arabia is revoked, the Indonesian government can reap IDR 31 trillion from remittance. Even so, this discourse still reaps the pros and cons considering that there are still many cases related to PMIs in Saudi Arabia that have not been resolved, including the number of legal cases and cases of violence that befell PMIs in Saudi.

Nurhadi also emphasized the importance of clarity of fate and protection for all PMIs, including Indonesian migrant workers who enter Saudi Arabia through non-procedural channels.

"Will it still be left without legal protection status?" said Nurhadi.

In addition to the discourse on the revocation of the moratorium on sending PMIs to Saudi Arabia, the DPR Commission IX working meeting today also discussed strengthening PMI protection governance, the role of manpower attaches, and efforts to protect PMI victims of Trafficking in Persons (TPPO) in various countries.

Nurhadi emphasized that PMI protection is a state obligation that must be carried out seriously, not just an administrative formality.

"This request is a serious concern of the government to protect our migrant workers," he concluded.