Jakarta – Prabowo Subianto, the presidential candidate number 2, revealed the important role of activists in supporting the protection of Indonesian migrant workers.
Prabowo emphasized this in the fifth debate of the 2024 Presidential Election held at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Jakarta, on Sunday (4/2).
“In my opinion, there are several of our embassies in some countries that are overwhelmed, the problem is too much. Our activists are very helpful in following and assisting our migrant workers everywhere,” said Prabowo.
One of the important roles was then exemplified by Prabowo in a case that befell one of the Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, Wilfrida Soik, in 2015.
At that time, Prabowo admitted that he was given information about Wilfrida’s case from an activist. The information was then followed up by Prabowo to help the rescue efforts for Wilfrida.
“I once had an experience, being informed by a female activist about a female worker in Malaysia who was going to be hanged in 2 weeks. If there was no news from this activist, we would not be able to help and intervene,” he said.
Prabowo’s efforts eventually paid off. Wilfrida was successfully freed from the death penalty and repatriated to Indonesia.
“So it’s true, the role of activists is very important in the defense of our workers’ rights abroad. They are heroes,” concluded Prabowo. (SENOPATI)
