Jokowi asserts his presence

In an event he called “e-blusukan” or meeting citizens via video, the president conversed with representatives of migrant workers from eight nations and made some crucial decisions to ease the problems faced by Indonesians working overseas.

Also attending were Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and Manpower Minister Muhammad Hanif Dhakiri among others.

Yatik, a migrant worker in Singapore, asked Jokowi to review a policy that makes it mandatory for workers to have an overseas working card, known as a KTKLN, as it made them subject to extortion. “If the government can’t eradicate such problems, then we hope to see the KTKLN card scrapped,” she said.

While most migrant workers involved in the video conference highlighted financial problems, such as rampant extortion and high placement fees, a migrant worker in South Korea preferred to use his time with the president to ask that the local Indonesian Embassy extend its operating hours. “Please open the embassy on Saturday and Sunday because we only have holidays on weekends,” he said.

Learning from the workers’ complaints, Jokowi surprised his ministers by making some on-the-spot decisions.

“We are scrapping the KTKLN,” he said, an announcement that was followed by applause from the workers.

Jokowi also asked Retno, sitting next to him, to extend the operating hours of the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul. 

“I have asked the minister to open [the embassy] on Saturday from 10am to 12pm. Will it be enough?” he asked. Shortly after being inaugurated on October 20, Jokowi has held a teleconference with residents in various cities across Indonesia to hear their views on urban problems.