Indonesia calls for better protection of its workers in Malaysia

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP): Indonesia's president called for Indonesians to be better protected from abusive employers in Malaysia on Friday, as the two countries signed a pact to boost bilateral trade.

Three high-profile abuse cases last year - including the murder of an maid in her employer's house - highlighted the ill-treatment of Indonesian workers and strained relations between the neighboring countries.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who arrived Thursday for a three-day visit, said he and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi "openly discussed" the workers' cases.

"We want to ensure they (Indonesians in Malaysia) are protected and that they are given their rights," Yudhoyono said at a joint news conference with Abdullah in the administrative capital, Putrajaya. "I have also told (the workers) to obey Malaysian laws when they are here."

Almost 60 percent of the more than 2 million foreign workers in Malaysia are from Indonesia, including more than 270,000 maids.

Malaysian courts were to rule on 17 cases brought by Indonesians against their allegedly abusive employers, Yudhoyono said. "Justice must be upheld anywhere," he said.

Although the protection and treatment of Indonesian workers in Malaysia has improved, both countries hope this situation will get better in the coming years "so that the presence of Indonesian workers will benefit both Malaysia and Indonesia," Yudhoyono said without elaborating.

Abdullah and Yudhoyono also witnessed the signing of a pact to set up a joint trade and investment committee to boost trade, and announced that the two countries would establish a panel to resolve cultural disputes such as one over claims that Malaysia used traditional Indonesian songs and dances in its tourism campaign.

"We have a strategic relationship ... but there are problems that crop up from time to time that need to be resolved," Abdullah said.

Tensions between the two countries grew last year after an Indonesian maid's highly publicized escape from her allegedly abusive Malaysian employer by climbing out of his 15th-story apartment window. In August, an Indonesian maid was found dead in her employer's house. Her employer has been charged with murder.

Another Malaysian is on trial for allegedly scalding her maid, who has since been moved to a temporary shelter at the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur along with dozens of other maids who have fled their abusive employers. (***)