MALAYSIA URGED TO RESPECT MIGRANT WORKERS' RIGHTS

Jakarta, June 18 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Prosperous Workers Union Confederation (KSBSI) has urged Malaysia to respect the rights of migrant workers in its territory.

Members of the KSBSI in a protest rally outside the Malaysian Embassy on HR Rasuna Said street here on Thursday morning asked the Malaysian government to respect the rights of migrant workers, including those from Indonesia.

The protesters said many Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia had endured maltreatment from their employers, and one of them was Siti Hajar who was tortured by her boss.

"Siti Hajar is one of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia who experienced maltreatment by her employer. Therefore, we are conveying a strong protest to the Malaysian government through its embassy in Jakarta," KSBSI spokesman Rekson Silaban said during the rally outside the embassy.

Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had ordered National Migrant Workers' Protection and Placement Agency (BNP2TKI) chief Jumhur Hidayat to personally handle the case of Siti Hajar.

"The President has ordered me to take the needed action to ensure protection of the victim's rights," Jumhur said recently.

Siti Hajar (33), a migrant worker from Limbangan, Garut, West Java, had been tortured while working for an ethnic Chinese family in Lanai Kiara Condominium, Kuala Lumpur.

"She had been hit with a piece of wood and sprayed with hot water. Unable to bear further the cruel treatment by her employer, she, who had worked there since July 2, 2006, finally fled on Monday (June 8)," Jumhur said.

Siti hid behind a roadside tree near the condominium from 01.00 to 08.00 hours before taking a taxi to the Indonesian embassy, he said.

Jumhur said besides being tortured for trivial things she also had not received her salary for the past 34 months totaling 17,000 Malaysian ringgit.