Indonesia won't understand if Adelina's death goes unpunished - envoy

Indonesia won't understand if Adelina's death goes unpunished - envoy

UPDATED 6.55PM | Added response from Tenaganita executive director Glorene A Das.

The Indonesian public will not understand if no one is ultimately held responsible for the tragic death of domestic worker Adelina Lisao, said the country’s ambassador to Malaysia, Hermono.

Hermono, who goes by a single name, was commenting after an arrest warrant was issued by the Federal Court today against MA Ambika, who was accused of murdering Adelina in 2018, but failed to turn up in court today.

When asked about the memorandum of understanding (MOU) negotiations between the two countries for the placement and protection of domestic workers in Malaysia, Hermono explained that the MOU was a separate issue but that sentiments of the Indonesian public ran high over reports of abuse cases.

The two countries have not been able to come to a resolution over the past five years since negotiations to sign a new MOU commenced in 2016.

In today's Federal Court proceedings, Ambika was represented by her daughter after she claimed medical disability with a medical report and certificate.



MA Ambika

However, deputy public prosecutor Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar argued that seven attempts had been made to serve Ambika with a notice of hearing and she had already missed past hearings.

Requesting for an arrest warrant, Dusuki said one notice was even pasted onto the gate of her home in Penang.

READ MORE: Mother of dead maid treated 'like a dog' calls for justice

Presiding Judge Vernon Ong, who issued the warrant, said the medical report did not give grounds for Ambika to be absent from court.

He set Jan 24, 2022, for the next hearing and requested the court to arrange for a lawyer to represent Ambika at the murder trial.

Also present in court was Indonesian consul-general in Penang Bambang Suharto who said they had appointed a lawyer to hold a watching brief.

The Indonesian government was watching the proceedings of the case closely, he added.

Bambang viewed the warrant of arrest as a positive effort by the court to ensure justice for Adelina and her family.

“We hope that the attorney-general’s office will ensure that there is justice for Adelina and all other migrant workers in Malaysia; otherwise, her death would have been in vain.

“The Indonesian public will question the ability of Malaysia to protect migrant workers here,” he explained.

Ambika had been acquitted by the High Court in Penang and the Court of Appeal late last year and Bambang expressed disappointment in how the case had been handled thus far.

He said he was shocked when he first heard the DPP in the High Court requesting for a discharge not amounting to acquittal and the judge had acquitted her instead.

“And the court of appeal reviewed that decision and upheld it,” he added.

Tenaganita executive director Glorene A Das lauded the issuance of the warrant for the arrest of Ambika as the defendant had repeatedly missed previous court hearings.

She said she hoped the decision would give confidence to Adelina’s family, NGOs and migrant workers here that justice will prevail.