Thousands of Indonesian Students Tricked Into Ferienjob

Author: Dian Kencana
March 27, 2024

Illustration, job interview. Photo: indonesianembassy.de

SEAToday.com, Jakarta-Director of General Crime Unit at the Criminal Investigation Agency Brigadier General Djuhandani Rahardjo Puro explained that 1,047 Indonesian students were flown to Germany through the ferienjob program socialized by PT CVGEN and PT Sinar Harapan Bangsa (PT SHB) in universities.

Ferienjob itself is a physical labor program created by the German government to fulfill the needs of physical laborers. Furthermore, PT SHB claimed that the ferien job is included in the Freedom to Learn, Independent Campus (MBKM) program and can be converted to 20 course credits. However, PT SHB wasn’t listed in the MBKM program or as a recruiter in the Manpower Ministry.

When applying, victims must pay 150 thousand rupiahs to PT CVGEN and 150 euros to PT SHB as the companies claimed that the victims have been accepted by German runtime agencies. Next, the victims had to pay 200 euros to PT SHB to get a working permit. Then, their salary is cut to pay an advance of 30 million rupiahs to 50 million rupiahs.

Now, five individuals with the initials ER (39), A (37), AJ (52), SS (65), and MZ (60) have been set as suspects, while the victims have been flown back to Indonesia as their contracts have ended in December 2023. Furthermore, Jakarta State University (UNJ), one of the universities that had their students flown to Germany, is set to take legal actions against SS, PT CVGEN, and PT SHB.

It is important to note that The Indonesian Embassy in Berlin stated that ferienjob is not under intergovernmental cooperation and doesn’t relate to a student’s academic courses. (JESSICA/DKD)