REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SUKABUMI -- Official record showed that 39,720 migrant workers left the country in the first two months of this year down from 40,420 workers in the same period last year.

The largest number of 8,733 workers were recruited from West Java, data from the National Agency for Employment and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI) said.

However, among regencies, Lombok Timur of West Nusa Tenggara sent the largest number of 4,073 workers, followed by Indramayu of West Java 2,718 workers and Lombok Tengah of NTB 1,863 workers, and Cirebon of West Java 1,591 workers.

The regency of Sukabumi of West Java was the 26th sending only 427 workers, Joko Purwanto, a senior official of the agency said here on Monday.

Joko said the decline in the first two months of this year was a result of the moratorium ruled by the government in sending migrant workers to Middle East.

Currently the government allowed only to send skilled migrant workers such as paramedics, midwives and physicians.

The restriction on the sending of housemaids abroad is to prevent problems involving the migrant workers abroad and to reduce illegal recruitment to be sent as migrant workers.

Many Indonesian housemaids especially in Middle East have faced legal cases and some of them are facing death penalty for alleged murder.

It is estimated around 4.5 million Indonesians work abroad. Most of them (around 70%) are women working as housemaids.

Men who made up 30 percent work mainly in plantation, construction, transportation and service sectors.

Malaysia employs the largest number of Indonesian migrant workers, followed by Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

The real numbers are believed to be much larger as there many illegal Indonesian workers especially in Malaysia.

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