"I proposed it in 2021, and conveyed it again to President Joko Widodo in 2023," head of the BP2MI, Benny Rhamdani, said here on Wednesday.
He made the statement after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between BP2MI and local governments, state agencies, educational institutions, and the private sector on the protection of Indonesian migrant workers.
With the subsidized housing program, migrant workers will get more disciplined in saving money for housing, he opined.
"This is also to motivate them to be disciplined in saving, so that they are not wasteful (of money)," he said.
According to a press release on the official BP2MI website, Rhamdani discussed the provision of low-cost housing for Indonesian migrant workers with the Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry in 2022.
On that occasion, the BP2MI head wanted the program to be realized in 2024 so that migrant workers' dream of owning a house could be realized.
"One of their motivations to save money is to own a house. We will provide data on migrant worker clusters in each home province," he said.
He added that his agency will collaborate with local governments for the land acquisition for the homes.
"Then, to make payments easier, we can involve associations or the migrant worker placement agencies (P3MIs) that sent them overseas because they have a close emotional relationship," he said.
In response, the PUPR Ministry's director general of infrastructure financing, Herry Trisaputra Zuna, said that his side will focus on the plan later, but first, there is a need to consolidate migrant workers' data.
"They must also pass BI Checking and we will check their data from BP2MI and the local governments. I think we can realize this in 2024 if we consolidate it quickly," he informed.
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Translator: Tri A, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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