Jakarta – President Joko Widodo has announced Indonesia's migrant workers identification card program will be scrapped due to numerous cases of alleged extortion.

Joko, popularly known as Jokowi, made the decision after speaking with Indonesian migrant workers in eight countries during a teleconference on Sunday.

An Indonesian migrant worker in Brunei Darussalam told Joko that the identification card, known as KTKLN, was a "burden" mentally and materially.

"We want the KTKLN program to be erased, not just revised or replaced with other similar cards," the worker told the president, as quoted by news portal Tribunnews.com. "We want it to be scrapped."

Upon hearing the request, Joko reportedly told Nusron Wahid, the newly appointed chief of the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), to cancel the program.

"I have decided to scrap the KTKLN program. We'll revoke it." Joko was quoted as saying by Tribunnews.com.

Launched in 2007, the card aims to identify that the worker to whom it belonged had completed the proper procedure to work abroad. The full implementation of the card, however, began in 2011.

The card, which was introduced free-of-charge, also works as a security instrument before and after the holder is given an assignment.

However, there have been numerous reports by Indonesian migrant workers who claim they have had to pay huge amounts of cash in order to obtain the card – pointing to exploitation by officials.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/jokowi-scrap-id-card-indonesian-migrant-workers/