Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono said the government had indeed received requests from many parties to declare a moratorium on the dispatch of workers to Saudi Arabia.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government is considering suspending the sending of workers to Saudi Arabia, a senior minister said here on Wednesday.

Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono said the government had indeed received requests from many parties to declare a moratorium on the dispatch of workers to Saudi Arabia.

"Indeed we need to give consideration to them. We need to think if we have to conduct a moratorium immediately or there are still other ways to take. What we have received is a lot of requests for a moratorium," he said

Agung called on those who made the requests to be patient because the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration and the National Agency for the Protection and Placement of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI) are still studying the need for a moratorium.

The study is made in line with the request of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made some time ago following the torture of an Indonesian migrant worker, Sumiati, in Saudi Arabia.

Agung said right now Indonesia and Saudi Arabia are still working on a memorandum of understanding for the protection of Indonesian migrant workers in that country and assuring that the workers are treated humanely and their rights are met.

While admitting that the government has been off guard with regard to the execution of Ruyati as it was not given a prior notice about it, Agung said that the government had already taken a maximal effort by advising Ruyati during her legal process.

"Actually legal advise has been given by our representative office during the judicial process as it should. What matters is that the execution has been carried out without us being informed about it first," he said.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha and special staff for legal affairs Denny Indrayana gave a similar view. They said that protection had been given by the government with the legal advises it gave during the judicial process.

Regarding the moratorium Julian said that a thorough study still had yet to be made before a decision would be made.

He said President Yudhoyono would first listen to the expose to be made the minister of manpower. BNP2TKO and the foreign minister before he made a decision.

"Certainly it has become one of the options or part of the study that we have made but we have not come to a decision whether it had to be taken or not. Therefore an assessment needs to be done first," he said.

Denny meanwhile said that Indonesia could not intervene in the Saudi judicial system while deploring the execution that had been done without a prior notice to the Indonesian government.

"As soon as it was made no country would be able to intervene. In Singapore a Filipino was once executed and the Philippine government tried to intervene but the execution continued. In Vietnam Australia tried to advocate but failed," he said citing similar cases in other countries.

Denny said that it was not only Indonesia but also other countries that had difficulties obtaining information about execution plans in that country.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011