MoFA Appreciates MoSA's Efforts in Handling Children Victims of Undocumented Physical Violence from Malaysia

JAKARTA (August 14, 2022) – Earlier on Wednesday (13/07), the Ministry of Social Affairs at the Technical Implementation Unit (UPT) “Handayani” Center received a referral for a child victim of undocumented physical violence in Malaysia from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “A” had been treated at Muar Hospital from May 30, 2022, to June 13, 2022, to get a recovery from injuries caused by the abuse of "A"'s biological father.

On June 13, 2022, the Muar Supreme Court handed over “A” to the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) Johor Baru for the safety and welfare of the children, then “A” was returned or had to be immediately returned to Indonesia. Unfortunately, the whereabouts of "A"'s biological mother, who is an Indonesian citizen (WNI), is unknown.

After being handed over to the "Handayani" Center in Jakarta, the Head of the "Handayani" Center, Romal Sinaga stated to carry out a comprehensive psychosocial examination for "A" and to search for "A"'s biological mother and family. "Do a search for mother or family "A" by coordinating and cooperating with the local government and related institutions, protect "A", and fulfill "A"'s needs," said Romal.

Until now, the "Handayani" Sentra team has been searching for "A"'s biological mother in various areas, as it is known that "A"'s biological mother was born in South Sulawesi, and coordinating with the Central Sulawesi regional government, but to no avail.

Previously, the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI) stated that "A"'s biological mother was an illegal Indonesian Migrant Worker (TKI) so she was not properly recorded at the appropriate institution. Furthermore, the search was carried out in coordination with the Batam Regional Government because it was known that the address on the passport of biological mother "A" was located in the Batam area. But unfortunately, the whereabouts of "A"'s biological mother was not found.

The "Handayani" Center Team has also coordinated with the Central Maluku regional government because the team received information from the Batam immigration authorities that the civil registration number on the birth certificate of biological mother "A" was in Central Maluku, but unfortunately, there is no result.

In addition, "Handayani" Center team conducted a search through social media, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and others. Until finally the team found a result i.e someone who knew "A"'s biological mother and provided a telephone number that could be contacted.

After going through a lengthy search process, it was discovered that "A"'s biological mother was still in Johor Baru, but had not been able to return home due to problems with incomplete documents. In this case, the Indonesian Consulate General in Johor Baru will oversee and try to help process the document for biological mother "A", so that she can immediately meet her biological child.

On Saturday (13/08), officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the reference visited the "Handayani" Center as well as monitoring and conducting discussions and coordination related to the process of resolving case "A". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also appreciates the efforts made by the "Handayani" Center team to obtain information related to "A"'s biological mother. Furthermore, a Case Conference (CC) will be held involving other external institutions to find out the progress and plans for the next “A” case settlement.