VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has pressed for conducting evaluation and immediately offering new job openings to prevent the rampant practice of sending illegal Indonesian migrant workers to neighboring countries.

"I am very concerned about the rampant practice of sending illegal Indonesian migrant workers to neighboring countries. (Everyone) must pay serious attention to this practice and immediately address the root cause of the problem," MPR's Deputy Chairperson  Lestari Moerdijat informed through a written statement here on Monday.

An Indonesian fishing boat that sank on Sunday March, 20, in the Malaysian waters was suspected to be carrying migrant workers. As a result of the accident, two people lost their lives, 26 people went missing, and 61 people were rescued.

In January 2022, six would-be Indonesian migrant workers drowned off the coast of Malaysia after their boat capsized. The incident was allegedly related to an attempt to enter Malaysia illegally.

A month earlier, 21 Indonesian migrant workers died after their boat capsized.

Moerdijat noted that these accidents -- in which ships brought Indonesian migrant workers illegally to neighboring countries-- must receive serious attention from stakeholders, so that the main problems that trigger the accidents could be resolved immediately.

She assessed that several factors had triggered the migrant workers' ship accident. She suspected that finding work in the country had become increasingly difficult coupled with economic pressure due to the pandemic that were some of the factors that had driven the series of events to occur.

Stakeholders must immediately evaluate several poverty alleviation and community empowerment programs in order to immediately tap into the regional economic potentials.

Pushing for the opening of various business potentials in every part in Indonesia must be done immediately to halt the rampant practices in question, she stated.

"Because in truth, our Constitution has mandated the managers of this country to protect every Indonesian citizen and create an independent, united, sovereign, just and prosperous Indonesian state and nation," she concluded. (Antara)