DEATH OF INDONESIAN MAID HIGHLIGHTS CONTINUING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 000908

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG MY
SUBJECT: DEATH OF INDONESIAN MAID HIGHLIGHTS CONTINUING
MIGRANT WORKER PROBLEMS IN MALAYSIA

REF: KL 775 TIP AMBASSADOR CDEBACA'S VISIT TO
MALAYSIA AUGUST 25-27


1. (SBU) Summary and Comment: On October 26, Muntik Hani, an
Indonesian woman working as a maid in a Selangor, Malaysia
suburb, died of injuries sustained allegedly at the hands of
her Malaysian employers, an extreme case of the abusive
treatment that Indonesian maids sometimes receive here. Her
employers have been arrested and two senior police officials
have been assigned to head the investigative task force.
This is merely the most recent case in a series of incidents
of Malaysian mistreatment of Indonesian migrant workers that
has strained relations between the neighboring countries.
The government of Indonesia has pushed to update an MOU
between the nations that would offer better protections for
its migrant workers. The GOM appears to be taking this
incident seriously and working hard to ease tensions between
Malaysia and its neighbor, Indonesia. End Summary and
Comment.


2. (SBU) On October 20, police rescued Hani from the house of
her Malaysian employer, A. Murugan, an ethnic Indian Tamil
employed as a vendor of sugar cane juice. The Indonesian
domestic cleaner who was hired to replace Hani found her in a
locked bathroom. Police reported that when she was found,
Hani was tied up around her arms and legs, had bruises all
over her body, a broken back and wrist, and a serious wound
to her right leg that exposed bone. She appeared to have
been locked in the bathroom for two days without food.


3. (SBU) On October 24, Hani fell into a coma and on October
26, she died from her injuries. The police have classified
the case as a murder and have arrested her employer, A.
Murugan, his wife, and his mother. Deputy Inspector-General
of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar has announced he and Federal
Criminal Investigative Division Director Datuk Seri Bakri
Zinin will be heading the investigative task force. Murugan
had his first appearance in court on Friday October 30. He
has been charged with murder and faces the death penalty if
convicted. On November 3, Murugan pled not guilty to the
charges against him. His trial is scheduled for January 18,

2010.

MIGRANT WORKERS: A HISTORY OF MISTREATMENT
--------------


4. (SBU) Malaysia is one of Asia's largest importers of labor
and depends heavily on domestic workers from Indonesia.
UNHCR estimates that there are three million migrant workers
living in Malaysia of which one million are present
illegally. NGOs estimate that well over one million migrants
living in Malaysia are from Indonesia. Although Malaysians
welcome the cheap labor they tend to blame the ills of
society on migrant workers and view them as illegal
immigrants and criminals.


5. (SBU) Mistreatment and abuse of migrant workers and maids
is a contentious issue and a major cause of the strained
relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia in recent years.
The Indonesian press has picked up on Hani's story and have
given it prominent coverage. News of the death angered
Indonesians and led to a peaceful 30-person protest outside
the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta. Although the GOI has
publically praised the GOM's firm handling of Hani's case, it
likely feels pressure to take further action to protect its
migrant workers overseas. Hani's case is not the first
indication that Indonesian maids suffer abuse in Malaysia.
In early 2004, another Indonesia maid, Nirmala Bonot, was the
subject of abuse by her Malaysian employer that included
being burned with a hot iron and having boiling water thrown
on her. In November 2008, her employer was sentenced to 18
years in jail. In June 2009, Siti Hajar, also an Indonesian
maid, suffered similar abuse at the hands of her employer
before she escaped. Hajar's case prompted Indonesia to
temporarily ban the sending of domestic workers to Malaysia
and a call for a newly negotiated memorandum of understanding
(MOU) between the two countries. On June 25, The Star, a
major local newspaper, reported that Indonesian authorities
receive up to 150 complaints per month alleging ill
treatment, overwork, unpaid salaries, and physical abuse in
Malaysia. Speaking on October 30 at a seminar on migrant
workers' access to health care, Irene Fernandez, Director of
the local NGO Tenaganita said "the living conditions of
Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia can be described as
the three D's ) Dangerous, Dirty, and Difficult.8


6. (SBU) In an August 27 meeting with Ambassador for TIP
CdeBaca, Senior Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of
Home Affairs Raja Azahar confirmed that the GOM was working
with Indonesia to create a new migrant workers' MOU to be

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announced shortly that would include a minimum wage for
Indonesian migrant workers, specific language restricting the
confiscation of passports, and one day off per week (See
Reftel). In addition, he noted that the MOU would also
mandate that employers pay migrant employees by depositing
their paychecks into a bank account in the migrant's name to
allow the GOM the ability to monitor whether employers are
complying with the agreement. Subsequent meetings with GOM
officials as well as news reports corroborate that such
efforts are ongoing but an agreement has not yet been
reached. (COMMENT: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang
Yuhoyono's trip to Malaysia scheduled for November 11
presents an opportunity to discuss the MOU as well as the
issue of protection of Indonesian maids in Malaysia. END
COMMENT).


7. (SBU) Many of the Indonesian migrant workers are women and
children, uneducated and poor, and lacking in legal
documentation ) traits that make them extremely vulnerable
to exploitation by human traffickers. The 2006 MOU between
the GOI and the GOM offers few protections to Indonesian
Migrant workers and NGOs have criticized it for failing to
include basic human rights protections. The billions of U.S.
dollars that such workers remit from Malaysia to Indonesia
each year likely influenced the GOI to agree to such terms.
Indonesians are paid significantly less than their Filipino
counterparts, work long hours under poor conditions, have no
legal recourse to recoup unpaid wages, and many find
themselves in a form of debt bondage wherein their first six
months to a year's pay is withheld to cover their travel fees
to Malaysia. The GOM and Philippine government agreed on
guidelines to protect documented Filipino workers from
exploitation, mandating a minimum salary of 1400 Malaysian
Ringgit per month ($400 USD) and one day off per week, in
addition to the pre-departure orientation seminars in the
Philippines required of all overseas-bound Filipino workers.
While these guidelines may be difficult to enforce in
practice, they do establish a baseline for protecting the
rights and welfare of Filipino workers in Malaysia ) a
baseline that Indonesian workers simply do not have.


8. (SBU) There have been two recent cases in Malaysia where
Indonesian maids have lashed out at their employers. On
August 18, 2009, a Malaysian court sentenced Hanni Seo to
four years, eight months imprisonment for assaulting her
employer, Phang Kian Huang. During sentencing, the judge
noted that he took into account that Seo was remorseful, had
taken responsibility for her actions, and had not been paid
by Huang for 20 months. On November 3, 2009, a Malaysian
court sentenced Nurhayati Ahmad to six years imprisonment for
poisoning her employer, Jaharah Daud. Ahmad's lawyer claimed
that Ahmad acted because she could no longer stand being
verbally abused by Daud.

PROACTIVE MEASURES TAKEN BY MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT
-------------- --------------


9. (SBU) Both the Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia and a
spokesman for the Indonesian President have publically
praised the GOM's firm handling of Hani's case. They have
also expressed their desire to have the case against Murugan
proceed quickly unlike the case against Nirmala Bonot's
employer which took over four years to prosecute. (COMMENT:
Given the scheduling of Murugan's trial for January 2010, it
appears that the GOM is making a concerted effort to
fast-track this case. END COMMENT).


10. (SBU) On October 26, Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah
issued an unprecedented press statement addressing Hani's
case in which he expressed the GOM's "deepest sympathy and
condolences to the family of the deceased, as well as to all
Indonesians." He added that the GOM "condemns all forms of
abuse against any worker, regardless of nationality or sector
of employment."


11. (SBU) On October 27, Home Minister Datuk Seri
Hishammuddin Hussein said, "I view this matter seriously and
may suggest at the next Cabinet meeting that we set up a
special unit, comprising various ministries to prevent a
repeat of such a case." He added that the case should be
brought to court as soon as possible "and judgment served
immediately."


12. (SBU) On November 1, The Star reported that when asked
for a comment on Hani, Minister of Women, Family, and
Community Development Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said
that proper punishment should be meted out against the
alleged abuser as soon as possible.


13. (SBU) On November 9, Bernama reported that Minister Of

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Human Resources Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam said that starting
on December 1, his ministry will commence making random
visits to homes to get feedback on the situation of foreign
maids. The visits would be conducted through the Human
Resources Ministry's Manpower Department and would
concentrate on maids from Indonesia. He added that maids
would be told of their rights and given a number to call if
they suffered any abuse.


14. (U) This cable has been coordinated with U.S. Embassies
Jakarta and Manila.
KEITH