OVER 700 THOUSAND INDONESIAN WORKERS SENT ABROAD IN 2008

Jakarta, June 24 (ANTARA) - The number of workers Indonesia had sent overseas in 2008 totaled 748,825, spokesman of the National Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), Rosyandi Monzier said.

He said that in 2008, the government set a target to send 750,000 workers. "The number of those sent to Malaysia reached 258,840, consisting of 78,402 for the informal sector and 181,438 for the formal sector," he said here on Tuesday.

Data at the BN2TKI indicated that in 2008 the number of workers sent abroad totaled 748,825 of which 64 percent or 480,531 were for the informal sector while 36 percent or 268,294 for the formal sector.

In the meantime, the number of those placed in Saudi Arabia reached 234,643 in 2008 of which 211,623 for the informal sector and 23,020 for the formal sector.

Malaysia and Saudi Arabia were the two biggest countries receiving Indonesian workers.

Jumhur Hidayat, chief of the National Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), has proposed to the government to stop the dispatch of Indonesian domestic helpers to Malaysia for one month pending the revision of the Indonesia-Malaysia Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Indonesian migrant workers signed earlier in 2009.

Didayat made the proposal following a report on an Indonesian domestic helper, Siti Hajar (33), who was tortured by her employer in Malaysia.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said that the Indonesian government would study the possible impact of a halt in the dispatch of workers to Malaysia.

"We will evaluate its possible impact on the informal sector," Faizasyah said adding that it would be better if the plan to stop the dispatch of workers was discussed with workers who had returned from Malaysia because they could possibly provide additional and valuable inputs.

However, sociologist Badaruddin of North Sumatra University (USU) advised the government not to be in a hurry in deciding to stop the dispatch of workers abroad because it could affect the people's interest.

"The government needs to consider the advantages and disadvantages before deciding to stop sending workers abroad," he said here on Monday.***3***