Indonesia's sudden ban o­n the export of female migrant workers to Asia-Pacific and the Middle East has surprisingly drawn flak from o­ne of its domestic labour organisations for failing to take into account the country's present economic difficulties.

The Consortium for Indonesian Migrant Workers' Defence (Kopbumi) said the ban announced by the Jakarta government o­n Feb 10 was meant to protect female migrant workers.

Responding to Berita Harian 's report yesterday o­n the ban which also affects Malaysia, Kopbumi's executive director Wahyu Susilo said the given reason was that female workers sent abroad are generally not highly educated so they are forced to work mostly in the domestic help sector where they may be exploited.