14 July 2007
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta
With thousands of their citizens facing abuse in Malaysia and Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines have agreed to press for a legally binding agreement on the protection of migrant workers among Association of Southeast Asian Nations members.
During the fourth bilateral joint commission meeting to discuss all areas of cooperation between both countries here Friday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda and his Philippine counterpart Alberto Romulo signed and agreement that will serve as solid basis for comprehensive cooperation, including a commitment to push for an ASEAN migrant workers convention.
"As migrant labor exporting countries, we agree to sponsor the establishment of an ASEAN agreement on the protection of migrant workers so that there will be clear regulations implemented to protect our migrant workers in all ASEAN countries," Hassan told a press conference.
Romulo agreed that as the Philippines and Indonesia were both labor-sending countries, both countries would strive for regional and global instruments to protect the welfare of migrant workers.
"Beyond our bilateral labor cooperation, we committed to work together for the adoption of an ASEAN convention on the protection of the rights of the migrant workers and the establishment of ASEAN committee on migration and development," he said.
Hassan said that the ASEAN committee on migration and development would work on the draft of the convention.
More than one million Indonesian citizens work as maids, plantation and construction workers in Malaysia and Singapore, both legal and illegally.
However, due to the lack of protection, Indonesian officials say that at least 1,500 maids seek help at their offices across Malaysia each year. Most complain of unpaid wages, but many also say they have been physically or emotionally abused or, in rare cases, raped.
The spectacular escape of 33-year-old Ceriyati Dapin, an Indonesian housekeeper who made headlines recently after she used a makeshift rope made of knotted pieces of cloth to flee a 15th-story apartment in Malaysia after allegedly having been beaten and threatened with her life by her employer, has highlighted the fate of many Indonesian workers abroad.
Beside migrant workers and other fields, such as fisheries, maritime, trade, industry, education and energy, both ministers also expressed a commitment to solving a pending border dispute between the two countries before the end of the year as well as to enhance cooperation to fight terrorism in the region.
"We will work closely in the field of defense and security, and solve border talks before the end of the year," Hassan said.
Romulo added that in defense and security, both of men had underscored the importance of jointly safeguarding their common borders.
"We recognized the value of using two levels of approach in combating terrorism. This can be done by strengthening law enforcement in one level and promoting interfaith and intercultural dialog and cooperation in the other," he said.
Both also came up with concrete ways to increase two-way trade, which has grown an average of 18.7 percent annually from 2002 to 2006, and reached US$1.7 billion last year.
