Indonesian Embassy In Kuala Lumpur Evacuates Domestic Workers For 8 Years Without Salary From Their Employers

Yati Karyati with the Indonesian Ambassador in Kuala Lumpur, Hermono. ANTARA Photo/Ho-SBMI (1)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur in collaboration with the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) succeeded in evacuating the domestic helper (PRT) from Lengkong, Bojongsoang, West Java, Yati Karyati, who had not been paid for eight years from her employer's house in Shah Alam.

"Mrs. Yati can now at least breathe a little easier after being picked up directly by the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur from the home of her employer where she has been working so far," said Chairman of the DPLN SBMI Malaysia, Ridwan Ismail, quoted by Antara, Thursday, February 3.

The case of Yati Karyati's mother received serious attention from SBMI Malaysia after this organization received a report from a fellow domestic worker who became a neighbor, an Indonesian Migrant Worker (PMI) from East Java Province.

"This friend often tells about the sufferer of Ibu Yati, who since 2014 together with her employer has never been able to send money to her family in her hometown because so far she has not received the salary that should be her right as a worker," he said.

Through a friend who couldn't bear to see the suffering of this fellow worker, he contacted Mrs. Yati's family in the village to get help and solutions to save Mrs. Yati from her employer and at the same time get her rights.

"After receiving the news, Mrs. Yati's family, who had been looking for their mother's condition, then contacted one of their acquaintances in Bandung to get help regarding Yati's mother," he said.

Previously, Mrs. Yati was not given access at all by her employer to contact her family so that the family did not know at all about her condition and whereabouts.

"One of them then contacted one of the administrators of the Malaysian SBMI DPLN, who then coordinated this case with the Malaysian SBMI DPLN management," he said.

After receiving the complaint, said Ridwan, his party went directly to the friend's house and received information that Mrs. Yati had only dared to leave the house asking for help when her employer was not at home.

"He told the story while crying, asking his family in the village to ask for help. Then I coordinated this with Pak Riki in the Division of Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers," he said.

DPLN SBMI Malaysia then moved quickly to find ways to save Yati Karyati, including contacting her employer directly, but did not get good cooperation from the employer.

Head of the Division for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers at the Malaysian SBMI DPLN, Riki Orlando, said that Mrs. Yati's employer promised her family back home to send her home as soon as possible and that all her salaries would be paid after Mrs. Yati arrived home.

"Of course, this does not make the Malaysian SBMI DPLN believe it, given the many tactics of previous employers who promised to do the same thing but in reality it did not turn out as promised," he said.

Therefore, the Chairman of the Malaysian SBMI DPLN directly complained about this case to the Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Hermono, who then responded very quickly to the complaint and then moved to pick up and evacuate Mrs. Yati to the Indonesian Embassy in order to arrange for her return and get her rights while working in Malaysia.