"The Malaysian government to punish the rapist as heavily as possible."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government should be able to prevent the repetition of rape cases on its citizens in Malaysia in the future, an observer said.

"The main problem that they should discuss is the way how to prevent the Malaysian citizens and apparatuses from humiliating and disdaining the dignity of the Indonesian citizens in Malaysia," Hikmahanto Juwono said in its written statement to ANTARA News on Monday.

Hikmahanto was reacting to the report on a rape case by three Malaysian police officers of an Indonesian migrant worker.

The Indonesian government should have the initiatives to invite the Malaysian government to discuss the matter, he said.

Hikmahanto said disrespect to the dignity of the Indonesian citizens in Malaysia was mainly caused by the fact that many migrant workers in that country worked as domestic helpers.

He said that so far the Indonesian government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration had been responsive to the rape issue over the Indonesian migrant worker in Malaysia.

Manpower Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said his office had sent a letter of strong protest to the Malaysian government against the raping by three Malaysian police officers of the Indonesian migrant workers.

"We have sent a letter of strong protest and asked the Malaysian government to punish the rapist as heavily as possible," the minister said on Monday.

An Indonesian migrant worker, SM (25), from Batang, Central Java, claimed she was raped by three Malaysian police at Perai police office, Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Penag on Friday, Nov. 9.

SM was netted in a sweeping and was taken to the police station because she was accused of having no proper document. She could only produce the photocopy of her passport.

"The police refused to accept it because it was only a photocopy and I was then taken to the police station," she was quoted by a local media as saying.

She was raped by three policemen before she was released.
(Uu.A014/H-YH)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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