The Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Hadi Wayarabi Alhadar has been summoned to Jakarta for discussions with Indonesian ministers on how to deal with the possible whipping of several of its nationals and the continued presence of migrant workers in Indonesian border towns waiting to return to Malaysia.

It is learnt that the envoy returned to Jakarta yesterday to meet with members of a task force appointed by President Megawati Sukarnoputri to deal with the migrant labour issues.

The Jakarta task force comprising of Indonesia's Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla, Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Transportation Minister Agum Gumelar, Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah and National Police Chief General Da'i Bachtiar was set up early last month to undertake proper documentation of workers at Indonesian ports to allow their return to Malaysia.

According to the Consortium for Indonesian Migrant Workers' Defense (Kopbumi), the meeting between the ambassador and the officials is likely to focus on preparation for the setting up of a separate committee by the Indonesian parliament to investigate claims made by undocumented Indonesian workers previously working in Malaysia.

"We have also called on the Parliament to sack embassy staff who have failed to carry out their duties effectively to protect Indonesian nationals," said Kopbumi's executive director Wahyu Susilo when contacted today.

Migrant labour laws

Meanwhile, Deputy House Speaker of the Indonesian Parliament Muhaimin Iskandar said the decision on whether to recall any staff from the republic's mission in Kuala Lumpur would be made only after evaluation by the special parliamentary committee to be appointed shortly.

"The ambassador was called to Jakarta by the Indonesian foreign minister. Right now, the meetings (between the ambassador and the various ministers) are informal. The special committee has not yet been set up but it will investigate the claims relating to the migrant labour issue," he told malaysiakini .

"We will be recommending a better government-to-government working relationship in handling the migrant labour issue. It is not the fault of the Malaysian government but Jakarta's for failing to manage the issue effectively," he added.

Muhaimin also said a draft legislation on migrant labour protection is likely to be debated this month in the Indonesian Parliament.

According to Kopbumi who assisted in formulating the draft submitted to Parliament last year the laws will seek for workers' rights such as minimum wages, work condition guarantees and an end to the Malaysian employers' practice of withholding migrant workers' passports.

The Indonesian government is also said to be working on these laws, if passed, into a bilateral agreement on migrant labour issues that it hopes to sign with Malaysia.

None whipped yet

In a related matter, the Jakarta Post reported yesterday that Hadi had clarified that the 74 migrant workers sentenced by the Malaysian courts to be caned have not had their punishments carried out pending their appeals.

"Until today, not one migrant worker have been given the torturous punishment because Malaysian justice system allows for the workers to appeal via legal assistance provided by the Indonesian embassy," Hadi reportedly said.

The envoy also said a total of 256 migrant workers have been sentenced on offences relating to illegal entry and domicile in Malaysia. From this figure, 137 were sentenced to between four to six months' jail, 45 persons were fined while 74 received whipping sentences.

Earlier, the Indonesian media had reported, erroneously, that Indonesian illegal workers were already being whipped.

Hadi also denied accusations by several quarters that the embassy had not done its duty to inform its nationals of the changes in Malaysian immigration laws.

"Six months before the implementation of the new immigration laws in Malaysia, the embassy had asked that all illegal migrant workers leave the country and return with proper documents so that they will not be punished with fines, jail terms or whipping," he was quoted as saying.

According to the report, the total number of legal Indonesian workers in Malaysian now stands at around 600,000 persons, while another 129,000 Indonesians remain as undocumented workers.