President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) will launch the People’s Business Credit Program for Indonesian Migrant Workers (KUR TKI) at 09:00 WIB at Grahadi Building in Surabaya on Wednesday (15/12).
With the KUR TKI program, migrant workers will no longer be burdened by the high departure costs and will be protected from falling into the trap of moneylenders. Until now, many migrant workers had to seek “money assistance” from moneylenders charging very high interest rates in order to cover the expenses for departing as migrant workers.
The launch will be attended by 300 migrant workers from East Java. President SBY will also take the opportunity to engage in direct dialogue with these migrant workers. “Because the dialogue is expected to be somewhat lengthy, the President has requested that his schedule be postponed until tomorrow (today, red) since he has more available time then compared to Tuesday (yesterday, red),” said Drs. Gunarto MM, Head of the Public Relations and Protocol Bureau of the Regional Government of East Java.
With the launch of the KUR TKI program in East Java, prospective migrant workers will soon receive disbursements under KUR from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs in cooperation with several banks. “The realization of KUR for prospective migrant workers in East Java is because East Java has been designated as the national pilot project,” said Dr. Harry Soegiri, MBA MSi, Head of the Department of Manpower, Transmigration, and Population of East Java.
Regarding East Java being used as the pilot test for the KUR TKI program, Acting Deputy for Protection of the National Placement and Protection Agency for Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), Dr. Lisna Yuliani Poeloengan, had previously stated at the Stakeholders Coordination Event on Credit and Remittance Facilities organized by the BNP2TKI Deputy at Hotel Salak in Bogor at the end of September.
In 2011, the same model will be expanded to several other provinces, namely West Java, Central Java, the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), with 19 banks across the country designated as implementers. At that time, it was explained that the government has made a commitment regarding the management of remittance funds for migrant workers by urging banks to manage these funds seriously.
Therefore, the KUR TKI program, according to Harry Soegiri, is aimed at empowering prospective migrant workers while simultaneously boosting international banking transactions. Several government-owned banks that have been designated as implementers of the KUR TKI program have also opened representative offices in countries that are destinations for migrant workers from East Java, such as Malaysia and Singapore.
Harry explained that the banks involved in the KUR TKI program include Bank Mandiri, BRI, BNI, Bank Bukopin, and Bank Jatim. In fact, Bank Mandiri has already identified around 100 prospective migrant workers who will receive loans.
In addition, during the process of obtaining KUR TKI loans, prospective migrant workers will be facilitated by the provision of credit guarantee institutions. “The government has appointed Askrindo and Jamkrindo as guarantors for migrant workers who wish to receive KUR loan funds from the respective banks,” said Harry.
For Bank Jatim, Jamkrindo will be specifically designated as the guarantor. The loan limit for prospective migrant workers will depend on each bank. The KUR TKI program is driven by the numerous challenges and issues that prospective migrant workers have frequently encountered. “Many prospective migrant workers fail to depart due to cost constraints, especially for preparation and training,” Harry added.
(source: http://www.harianbhirawa.co.id/utama/21304-jatim-jadi-percontohan-kur-tki-nasional)