JAKARTA: The Saudi ambassador in Jakarta has said there are approximately 60,000 visas for Indonesian housemaids remaining unprocessed at Saudi and Indonesian recruitment offices. Ambassador Abdul Rahman Al-Khayyat told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that it was difficult to give a precise number due to the number of offices in operation, but that “it is around that figure”. “The embassy is working continuously to complete formalities for all visas already received,” Al-Khayyat said. “The decision to halt Indonesian visas comes into effect at the start of August, giving enough time for existing visas to be used. No new visas will be issued as from Saturday.” The ambassador said he did not know how Indonesia would enforce its own decision to stop its nationals going to Saudi Arabia to work. “Are they going to stop issuing passports, or stop people at the airport?” he asked. Al-Khayyat reiterated that the Indonesian ban on exporting workers was only a “temporary measure” until agreement is reached with the Kingdom to produce fair working conditions protecting both Indonesian employees and their Saudi employers. Sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the measure from Indonesia was the result of pressure on its president and Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the opposition. “That will create another opposition front against the president from the hundreds of thousands of Indonesians who want to work in Saudi Arabia, and particularly those who regard working in Saudi Arabia as an opportunity to go on the Haj or Umrah pilgrimages,” they said. With the Kingdom turning to other nations for the provision of housemaids, meanwhile, recruitment offices say that the supply of housemaids from Kenya and Ethiopia will “not be enough to cover the Kingdom's demand”. Recruitment office officials told Al-Watan Arabic daily that they are appealing to the Ministry of Labor to reach agreement “as quickly as possible” with authorities in India “as a possible alternative in order to make up the shortfall”. Many Saudis reportedly requested visa renewals for Indonesians and Filipinos under their sponsorship as soon as they learned of the government decision, seeking to extend their work permits by a year. Others, Al-Watan reported, have expressed a preference for Ethiopians, describing them as “working for reasonable wages and hard
