The Indonesian Government wants to immediately stop the practice of Indonesian women travelling abroad to work as housemaids, saying the practise is closely linked to the nation's self-esteem and dignity, the state news agency ANTARA News has reported.
"I have asked the Manpower Minister to set a target and formulate a clear road map to ensure that we stop sending domestic workers abroad. We should have some self-esteem and dignity," the Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said during the Peoples Conscious Partys (Hanuras) second National Congress on Friday night.
During his tour of Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and the Philippines recently, President Jokowi said he found out that there were a total of 2.3 million Indonesian migrant workers living in these countries, of which 1.2 million of them had illegal status and were considered problematic workers.
"About 1,800 have been rescued, 800 have been picked up by Hercules transporter, and tomorrow we will pick up some more, but I am sure the numbers will continue to grow as we encounter problems in dealing with this issue," he noted.
The President expressed the hope of being able to immediately stopping sending domestic workers abroad.