"The Foreign Ministry has yet to assign a new consul general to lead the Indonesian consulate general in Jeddah. As a result, nobody can lead it or give directives to all staff members to process (applications for travel documents in lieu of passport/SPLP)," Djemat said in a press statement released here on Tuesday.
The riot erupted following a stampede of hundreds of Indonesian migrant workers who were lining up for SPLP.
At least 12,000 Indonesian migrant workers gathered outside the consulate general to apply for SPLP on June 9.
The AAI noted that about 40 thousand of 2 million Indonesian migrant workers employed in Saudi Arabia have violated their permit of stay so that the Saudi government considers them illegal.
Djemat, one-time spokesman for the Indonesian Migrant Workers Task Force, said previously applications for SPLP were not processed at the consulate general but at other building outside it.
This was done to anticipate the rising number of migrant workers lining up for SPLP, he said.
He alleged that the riot was also incited by several panders who provoked the migrant workers to commit the riot.
"There were a lot of panders who offered their services to the migrant workers by paying 300 to 400 Saudi Riyals. When the panders failed to meet their promises, they blamed the Indonesian consulate general for working slowly and unprofessionally and as a result, the migrant workers got angry with the consulate general," he said.
He proposed that the consulate general hold a discussion with the Saudi government about the extension of the deadline scheduled for July 3, 2013 to collect documents from the migrant workers.
"The Saudi immigration authorities must check the conduct status of the migrant workers. Likewise the Indonesian consulate general must check the citizenship status of the migrant workers. Therefore, more time is needed to do so," he said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
