PMI Acronym Polemic: Jusuf Kalla Restui Indonesian Red Cross, Not Indonesian Migrant Workers

Illustration - Indonesian migrant workers or Indonesian workers. (ANTARA/Yuniati Jannatan Naim/dok)

JAKARTA - Indonesia's labor narrative (TKI) as a foreign exchange hero cannot be doubted. The state often benefits from the presence of migrant workers abroad. However, lately the term TKI is considered negatively charged along with the many poor cases of working abroad.

The government moved quickly to change the term TKI to Indonesian Migrant Workers. People like to call it PMI. Recently, Jusuf Kalla (JK) Gymas acronym PMI was used for migrant workers. This is because the Indonesian Red Cross is the only one who can use PMI's acronym.

In the past, when the state did not have great authority to protect its citizens who work abroad. Migrant Workers who work abroad are often dizzy when they need national protection. This condition took place from the Old Order, the New Order, to the beginning of the Reformation era.

The protection initiation began to be discussed in the era of Megawati Soekarnoputri. However, the protection agency that takes care of all kinds of migrant workers only attended the era of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) in 2006. The National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers (BP2TKI), his name.

BP2TKI has the authority regarding all matters of the placement and protection of migrant workers abroad. Whoever is TKI who has problems abroad, BP2TKI installs a body. Even though BP2TKI was unable to please all parties.

Lacks clearly exist. However, the presence of BP2TKI is able to increase the rate of TKI abroad. Foreign tourists from migrant workers are hoarding. The problem is that there are not a few problems with TKI abroad. Many of them have bad cases.

TKI is being tortured by employers. TKI killed the employer. There are migrant workers who run away. There are also migrant workers who use illegal channels. This condition makes the image of Indonesian migrant workers worse in national reporting. This view reached the ears of the government.

They do not want TKI, which incidentally has a big contribution to the country's progress in harboring a negative image. The state then issued Law Number 18 of 2017 regarding the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers.

The mandate of the law reveals the change from BP2TKI to BP2MI, from the term TKI to Indonesian migrant workers. People then left the term TKI and then welcomed the new term PMI.

"That Indonesian migrant workers must be protected from human trafficking, slavery, and forced labor, victims of violence, arbitrariness, crimes against human dignity, as well as other treatments that violate human rights."

"That the placement of Indonesian migrant workers is an effort to realize equal rights and opportunities for workers to obtain decent jobs and income, which is carried out while still paying attention to the dignity, dignity, human rights, and legal protection, as well as equitable employment opportunities and provision of workers in accordance with national interests," reads the consideration of Law Number 17 of 2017.

The new term Indonesian Migrant Workers abbreviated by PMI brings new problems. Chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross, Jusuf Kalla, was disturbed by the term Indonesian Migrant Workers, which was abbreviated as PMI in 2023. This condition is due to the emergence of negative cases related to migrant workers.

Cases with a negative tone like dragging PMI, which incidentally is a humanitarian institution. The Indonesian Red Cross was also affected by the sap. The national media reported a lot to give news titles with PMI acronyms.

The news turned out to refer to migrant workers, not the Indonesian Red Cross. JK specifically asked BP2MI (now finished: Ministry of P2MI) to no longer use PMI's acronym in calling Indonesian migrant workers.

JK and the Indonesian Red Cross are holding on to the presence of Law Number 1 of 2018 and Government Regulation Number 7 of 2019. Each of these legal products states that the abbreviation of PMI is only for the Indonesian Red Cross.

There is no rule that confirms that migrant workers must be abbreviated as PMI. The polemic reaches BP2MI. BP2MI also confirmed that the term Indonesian migrant workers are not called abbreviation in certain legal products.

As a result, BP2MI also decided not to use PMI's acronym in every publication. The media case still uses the term PMI for Indonesian migrant workers, so it's a different matter.

UU Number 1 of 2018 and Government Regulation Number 7 of 2019 concerning Reductions states that the abbreviation of PMI is only for the Indonesian Red Cross. We have communicated with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights and BP2MI.

"We emphasize that the abbreviation of PMI is only used for the Indonesian Red Cross. The term Indonesian migrant workers will be found for abbreviation or other mentions," said PMI Secretary General AM Fachir according to JK's direction in his reading letter in Tempo magazine entitled True PMI Level (2023).