Indonesia's House of Representatives is pressing the government to use every diplomatic channel to free two Indonesian women, identified by the initials AE and S, who are being held hostage in Myawaddy, a Myanmar town on the border with Thailand, for a ransom of 200 million rupiah.

Dave Laksono, deputy chair of House Commission I, which oversees foreign affairs, said so on Sunday, July 19, 2026, two days after a video showing the two women in handcuffs went viral on social media.

The Indonesian Embassy in Yangon had in fact received a report of the hostage-taking since July 15, two days before the video drew public attention. Embassy staff looked into the case, contacted the victims' families in Indonesia, and sent a diplomatic note to Myanmar authorities on July 16.

"We are expressing deep concern over the alleged hostage-taking of two Indonesian citizens in Myanmar. The safety of every Indonesian abroad is a priority that must be maintained at all times, so the government needs to ensure all protective measures are carried out quickly, precisely and in a coordinated manner," Dave said Sunday.

Why isn't a diplomatic note enough in Myawaddy?

Myawaddy is a town on the Myanmar-Thailand border where control on the ground is split between Myanmar's central government and several non-government armed groups, not fully in the hands of the official authorities that are the counterpart for the Yangon embassy's diplomatic notes. That means the protest note sent through official channels on July 16 may not reach the group actually holding AE and S.

Dave acknowledged the complexity. "Given how complex the situation is in that area, securing their release will require caution, intensive coordination and the right diplomatic approach so the process can proceed as smoothly as possible and reach the best outcome," he said.

The two victims are believed to have initially worked for an online scam company based in the area, according to Brig. Gen. Untung Widyatmoko, secretary of Interpol's National Central Bureau (NCB) in Indonesia. Myawaddy is known as a hub for online scam syndicates that recruit migrant workers with promises of high salaries in Thailand, then move them illegally into Myanmar for forced labor. Once a victim is deemed unproductive or tries to leave, the syndicates often extort their families with threats of violence, a pattern that appears to have repeated in AE and S's case.

Brig. Gen. Untung confirmed that Polri, the national police, is also monitoring the case. "What's clear is that we have been in communication with security authorities in Myanmar," he said.

Victim numbers and identities differ across sources

Several media outlets have named the two victims as Ayu, from Garagahan in Lubuk Basung subdistrict, Agam regency, West Sumatra, and Susi, from Tanjung Pinang, Riau Islands, identities that may not correspond exactly to the official initials AE and S used by the Foreign Ministry and House Commission I. The ransom figures also differ: Commission I cites 200 million rupiah, while the victims' own account in the video cited by several outlets mentions 220 million rupiah. The two reports may describe the same case but come from different channels, an official report to the embassy on one hand and the victims' direct account on the other, and had not been reconciled as of Sunday.

Part of a recurring pattern

The case of AE and S adds to a long list of Indonesians caught up in Myanmar's scam centers. From February 20, 2025, to July 16, 2026, 1,203 Indonesians were repatriated from online scam centers in Myanmar via Thailand, a figure that shows new victims keep turning up even as repatriation operations continue routinely.

House Commission I is pushing the government to strengthen coordination with Myanmar authorities, relevant countries and international partners if needed to secure AE and S's release.

What to watch

The outcome of the Yangon embassy's diplomatic note and whether Myanmar's security authorities can reach the armed groups controlling Myawaddy will shape the next steps. Also still pending from the Foreign Ministry: clarity on the two victims' status, whether the process is heading toward a physical evacuation or negotiation through local intermediaries, and a reconciliation of the ransom figure between 200 million and 220 million rupiah.