Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Thousands of Indonesian migrant workers marched through the streets of Hong Kong on Monday in protest at the Indonesian government's migrant worker identification card program, which despite being launched with good intentions has allegedly been exploited by officials to extort money from the workers.

The identification card, known as KTKLN, was initially launched to identify that the worker to whom it belonged had completed the proper procedure to work abroad. The card also works as a security instrument before and after the holder is appointed to an assignment.

A contactless smartcard with a microprocessor chip, the KTKLN can be scanned to obtain the digital data of migrant workers, and can be updated and read using a card reader.

Among the protesters was migrant worker Tri Sugito, who said the card was initially introduced as a free-of-charge facility but in reality, workers had to pay up to Rp 5 million ($455) for the card, pointing to corruption in the program.

Tri said only a few places in Hong Kong could facilitate the issuance of the card, thus limiting worker access. According to Tri, the uses of the card had also become unclear as it was only utilized by workers upon leaving Indonesia.

"When workers experience problems abroad, the KTKLN is not needed. Why would the government defraud their own people?" Tri said. "We heard President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is currently out of the country. Why not visit Hong Kong and listen to what the migrant workers have to say?"

In his written statement, Tri called on the president to remember the people he governed instead of focusing solely on next year's elections. "Don't be too busy with the party convention; remember your people," he said.

During the migrant workers' march from Victoria Park to the Indonesian Consulate in Hong Kong, the protesters also demanded that the Indonesian government offer protection for Kartika Puspitasari, a migrant worker currently fighting a court case against her employers.

The latter are allegedly to have forced Kartika to wear a diaper before tying her to a chair for five days while they went on a vacation, leaving her without food or water. The case came to light only after she managed to escape.