Warning issued after Indonesian man stopped from taking online gambling job in Cambodia
The government has warned citizens to only leave through official channels.
Indonesia.- Imam Riyadi, head of the Riau Islands Migrant Worker Service and Protection Center (BP3MI), has reported that the Ministry for the Protection of Migrant Workers (KP2MI) stopped an Indonesian man from leaving to work as an online gambling operator in Cambodia.
According to Riyadi, the person had been contacted by a recruiter about a job in Cambodia with a monthly salary of Rp10m (US$615). An accomplice in Tanjungpinang was going to arrange travel from Kualanamu Airport in Medan to Hang Nadim Airport in Batam then by sea to SBP Port in Tanjungpinang.
Officials from the Riau Islands BP3MI stopped the man at SBP Port on Wednesday (June 4) and he is now staying at a shelter.
Abdul Kadir Karding, the minister for the protection of migrant workers, warned about the number of citizens choosing to work in online gambling abroad, especially in Cambodia. He said some apparent high-paying job opportunities were linked to online scams and emphasised the importance of leaving through legal channels to ensure protection.
Gambling in Indonesia is illegal for both citizens and foreigners. Earlier this month, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s highest Islamic body, strongly criticised a proposal to legalise casinos as a means to boost state revenue. Cholil Nafis, leader of the council’s Da’wah and Brotherhood division, said the proposal went against social norms.
The legalisation of casinos was proposed by Galih Kartasasmita, a Golkar Party member of the House of Representatives (DPR RI), during a meeting with the Ministry of Finance’s budget office on May 12. Kartasasmita suggested that Indonesia could follow the United Arab Emirates’ model and establish casinos to generate additional non-tax revenue. He compared the economies of the countries, noting that both depend on natural resources to finance government spending.
