The government would not be able to protect them if they go illegally.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar has asked Indonesian migrant workers (TKIs) not to go to Saudi Arabia to work illegally during the moratorium on the dispatch of TKIs to the Middle East country.

"During the moratorium, please don`t go by yourselves to Saudi Arabia illegally," Minister Muhaimin said after the launching of a Call Center "Helo TKI" here Monday.

The government would not be able to protect them if they go illegally, he said.

He recalled that up to 11 TKIs had gone to Malaysia to work illegally during a similar moratorium imposed by the Indonesian government on the dispatch of TKIs to the neighboring country.

The moratorium is a political decision made by the Indonesian government to demand for better protection of TKIs in Saudi Arabia, he said.

The government is also planning an alternative program to create job opportunities for TKIs at home.

The government will allocate funds amounting to Rp1.4 trillion for the National Program of Community Empowerment (PNPM) Mandiri to deal with unemployment.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa after attending a coordinating meeting here Monday said the funds were collected from savings carried out by ministries, which have amounted to Rp15.1 trillion so far.

Some 1.96 million people are expected to receive benefits from the program, especially those living in 38 districts which have been identified as suppliers of Indonesian migrant workers (TKIs) overseas.

"We will focus on developing or creating programs in those regions. The national education ministry in cooperation with other ministries will coordinate the training programs," Hatta said.

The targets of the program are productive-age women living in districts/towns which used to supply migrant workers to countries such as Saudi Arabia.

The Indonesian government has recently decided to impose a moratorium on the dispatch of TKIs to Saudi Arabia following the beheading of Ruyati, a female Indonesian worker.

The government has designed the program to anticipate the impact of the moratorium, Hatta said.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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