Komnas HAM: Malaysia is the Most Reported Country by Indonesian Migrant Workers for Human Rights Violations

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) stated that is the country where Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) are most frequently reported for alleged human trafficking (TPPO) and human rights violations. "Malaysia is the country most frequently reported to the National Human Rights Commission," said the Coordinator of the Subcommission for the Advancement of Human Rights of the National Human Rights Commission, Anis Hidayah, when contacted on Thursday, January 29, 2025.

In the first semester of 2024, the National Human Rights Commission received six reports from PMI in Malaysia. This data makes Malaysia the country with the most reports from PMI among other countries in the Asian region. Apart from the neighboring country, the most reports came from PMI in Saudi Arabia and Iraq with five cases per country, followed by Cambodia with four complaints, and Thailand with two complaints. "That's the number of complaints, not the number of cases."

According to Anis, both PMI with and without documents have the same rights to receive protection and respect for their human rights. This protection, said Anis, is guaranteed in the international convention on the protection of the rights of migrant workers and their family members. Indonesia, said Anis, also expressed its agreement with the convention. Thus, according to Anis, there is an urgency for the government to implement human rights principles in protecting migrant workers in countries of placement.

"It is important for the Indonesian government to build communication with countries of placement, including Malaysia," said Anis.

Responding to the findings, Minister of Human Rights Natalius Pigai stated that there have been no maximum efforts from the government to protect and respect the rights of migrant workers working in Malaysia.

"As someone who understands migrant workers, I have not seen the efforts that have been made so far in a maximum and massive manner," said Natalius at the Ministry of Human Rights building, on Friday, January 31, 2025.

He said the government had deployed state instruments to protect migrant workers, especially in Malaysia, following the report. However, according to Natalius, there is no institution or joint commitment to regulate, protect, and respect migrant workers in Malaysia.

Natalia said that currently the Ministry of Human Rights will take steps in the form of making a memorandum of understanding through a coordination meeting to handle the protection of migrant workers.

Based on data processed by Tempo from various sources, as many as 50 percent of migrant workers choose to work in with a total of 1.6 million people choosing the neighboring country as their placement. As of 2022, there were 451 complaints of migrant workers in Malaysia due to violence, unpaid wages, and illness leading to death. Of the 217 recorded deaths, there were 69 migrant workers who died in Malaysia as of 2017.

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