B2PMI Deputy for Placement and Protection in America and Pacific Agustinus Gatot Hermawan invited Indonesian migrant workers to emulate Riyanto, a PMI awarded for rescuing a South Korean national.
"We hope that this (award) will encourage other PMIs to show care for fellow humans, just like our brother Riyanto did," he remarked during the handover of the award in Jakarta on Friday.
Riyanto, working abroad as a ship crew member, rescued a woman who had fallen into the sea near Bangeojin Port, Ulsan, South Korea. For his noble action, Riyanto received an award from the Ulsan Coast Guard Post on January 24, 2024.
He jumped into the sea to prevent the woman, who was allegedly drunk, from drowning on January 18 amid the water with temperatures between 6.6 and 14.8 degrees Celsius.
The B2PMI deemed Riyanto's heroic act as proof of the migrant workers' vital role not only in bringing foreign exchange to Indonesia but also in showing the Indonesian nation's high regard for humanity.
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"It is no wonder that plenty of PMIs abroad receive praise from their companies and bosses," Hermawan from B2PMI stated.
He ensured that B2PMI's appreciation for PMIs would go beyond award handover while affirming that the agency would continue to provide assistance to Indonesian migrant workers even after they concluded their duties. Based on data from the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry in 2021, South Korea hosted some 33 thousand Indonesian migrant workers, with 5,950 of them working as ship crew members.
