Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Gatot Abdullah Mansur on Friday saw off the MV Labobar, carrying 2,349 Indonesian migrant workers who were being deported after overstaying their permits.
Earlier, the group had been detained in Madinatul Hujjaj, Jedda, for two months, Indonesian consulate general in Jedda spokesman A. Fauzy Chusny said in an emailed statement received by The Jakarta Post on Monday.
On the day before they left Jeddah the group were transferred from Madinatul Hujjah and the Saudi Deportation Center to a Jedda port, on board 18 buses — six provided by the consulate general and 12 belonging to the deportation center, Fauzy says.
The process took seven hours longer than originally scheduled because of bureaucratic complications between the Indonesian shipping company PT PELNI and Jedda port authorities.
The vessel was not authorized to carry more than 2,500 passengers because a number of standard international shipping requirements were not met, he said.
When the group arrived at the port, they received travel documents (SPLP), he said.
"To work abroad, we must not have a strong will, but also sufficient know-how and physical and mental preparedness. We must learn a lesson from this bitter experience to avoid it happening again," the ambassador said.
(X the Jak Pos)
di 26 apr 2011 - 7:29