DPR angry at smuggling of workers<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives (DPR) attacked the
\ngovernment yesterday for doing little to stop smuggling of
\nworkers to neighboring Malaysia.<\/p>\n
The DPR commission I in charge of security and foreign
\nrelations said the Indonesian government seemed to close their
\neyes to the long-standing problem of worker smuggling.<\/p>\n
\"The government should do more to solve the problem before it
\nbrings unwanted consequences,\" said commission spokesman Soerjo
\nHandjono in a plenary session discussing the results of
\ncommissions' recent fact-finding visits to provinces.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians work legally or otherwise
\nin the more affluent neighbor, mostly in the construction and
\nplantation industries.<\/p>\n
Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur already have an arrangement on
\nlegalization of Indonesian workers in Malaysia to ensure their
\nprotection. However, illegal workers from Indonesia continue to
\nstream in.<\/p>\n
Handjono warned that illegal sending of workers along with the
\nrife smuggling of rattan and poaching in Indonesian waters
\npose a threat to security if the government fails to take proper
\nactions.<\/p>\n
The commission acknowledged that worker smuggling would remain
\nunresolved as long as Indonesia remained much less affluent than
\nMalaysia, where wages are significantly higher than in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Malaysian businesses, especially those in Sabah and Sarawak,
\nrequire unskilled workers from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"Illegal worker sending has become a lucrative business for
\nbrokers who collaborate with corrupt officials,\" Handjono said.<\/p>\n
He called on the Ministry of Manpower to intensify its efforts
\nto stop the flow of illegal workers to Malaysia by improving
\ncoordination with other related ministries and the powerful Armed
\nForces (ABRI).<\/p>\n
Control over the shipping of workers is so slack that the
\ngovernment raises the issue of the laborers' plight only when
\ntheir boats sink at sea, he said.<\/p>\n
West Nusa Tenggara and Java are currently the largest source
\nof workers to Malaysia. (pan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dpr-angry-at-smuggling-of-workers-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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