BP2MI Pontianak Help Repatriate Mother Of 6 Children After 20 Years Living In Malaysia

Illustration-The Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI) Pontianak, in West Kalimantan (ANTARA)

PONTIANAK - The Pontianak Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI) and the Peduli Anak Bangsa Foundation succeeded in repatriating Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) NI from Sekadau Regency, West Kalimantan with their six children from Sabah, Malaysia.

"The successful repatriation of the mother of NI and her six children, initially there was a complaint from the family to the Yayasan Peduli Anak Bangsa, so they asked us for help to be followed up," said Head of BP2MI Pontianak Kombes Amingga M Primastito in Pontianak, Antara, Wednesday, January 18.

He explained that the results of the report from the Foundation for Care for the Children of the Nation were then followed up by reporting it to the Central BP2MI which was then followed up by the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia.

According to him, NI entered Malaysia in the Sabah area illegally in 2001 and since then he has lost contact with his family.

"Only in 2019, the family managed to get in contact with NI after the photo was uploaded on social media by NI relatives in Malaysia. The photo on social media was actually recognized by his sister, then after being traced NI was married to a resident of West Nusa Tenggara ( NTB) and has six children," he said.

Then in 2020, NI's husband died due to illness so he was again adrift in Malaysia and finally managed to be returned to his family in Pontianak.

Neti herself was promised when she was brought to Malaysia that she would be employed as a household assistant. But in reality, she was not employed as a domestic helper but she was held with some friends by an illegal labor agency in Malaysia.

Not only that, said Amingga, NI and his fellow Indonesians were forced to become prostitutes. Unable to stand being treated like that, NI ran away with his friends and was rescued by PMI who was there.

That's when NI met one of the young men from NTB who also saved him until he married him and had six children.

"Today, we returned NI to his family who had been picked up by the Sekadau District Social Service and the Peduli Anak Bangsa Foundation. We appeal to the community not to work as PMI non-procedurally, because there are many risks. Especially security and so on including welfare," he said.