NO MORE INDONESIAN MADE FROM 2017

INDONESIA will stop sending its people abroad to work as maids by 2017, said Indonesian consul-general in Kuching Djoko Harjanto. “The Manpower Ministry had made a statement about this. Not only no more export of domestic helpers to Malaysia – to everywhere,” he was reported as saying in The Borneo Post at his Hari Raya open house in Kuching on Thursday. He pointed out that there was a decrease in Indonesian workers in Kuching compared to previous years. There are now about 100,000 to 200,000 Indonesia workers in Sarawak, with most in oil pal estates. “This is because in Indonesia, there will be more oil palm plantations. They also need workers. Last time it was hard to find a job there so many came here to work," he said. He noted that while the Malaysian government had fixed the minimum wages of RM800, some employers still did not heed the directive and shortchanged their employees. “When they come here to work, they want to bring home money. If not, they’d rather stay and work in Indonesia." Harjanto said the harvest of oil palm has increased in Pontianak, West Kalimantan and it is being exported to Sarawak but the decrease in its price was not so promising. In his Hari Raya message, he also urged the Indonesian community in Kuching to stay free from crime and that the consulate will look out for them.