Surabaya – The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry says that the Manpower Law must be revised to protect Indonesian workers overseas.

The ministry said that 20,000 Indonesians had entered Malaysia illegally to work in the informal sector between 2009 and 2011, when Indonesian banned sending workers. Indonesia lifted its moratorium in December.

"One effect of the moratorium policy is increasing demand from Malaysia for workers. They lure the [Indonesians] with high payment and make many of them enter Malaysia illegally," Muhaimin said at a seminar in Surabaya, East Java, on Saturday.

Ministry secretary-general Muchtar Luthfie, who also attended the seminar, said that revisions to the law would require that workers to attend some training sessions before they depart for other countries for employment.

The training would also require that workers to learn about the culture and customs of their host countries to minimize potential conflicts with employers.