Dream becomes nightmare for workers<\/p>\n
Fitri Wulandari and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Nunukan, East Kalimantan<\/p>\n
Rustan was dreaming of streets paved in gold when he took the
\noffer to work in Malaysia last year. He left his hometown of
\nRappang in South Sulawesi, bringing with him his wife Pasah and
\ntheir two-month-old son, Ruslan.<\/p>\n
To reach the land of his dreams, the young family ran the risk
\nof getting locked up for not having legal travel documents.<\/p>\n
From the transit island of Nunukan regency, the family hopped
\non board a small boat provided by the labor export company PT
\nMitra Harta Insani to reach Malaysia's Tawau region in Sabah
\nstate at night. From there, they were immediately taken to the
\ncamp of the biggest cocoa plantation in the area.<\/p>\n
Earning RM 6 (US$1.60) per day, Rustan saved RM 200 after one
\nyear of hard work. But he spent most of that money to take the
\nfamily home for a vacation two months ago.<\/p>\n
It was just on their return to Malaysia that local authorities
\nstarted deporting Indonesian illegal migrant workers in
\ncompliance with a new labor law which took effect on Aug. 1.<\/p>\n
Rustan, 23, said his employer had sent him and another 70
\nworkers to obtain new passports and work permits before the
\nstringent immigration policy took effect. Another batch of
\nworkers would be sent after they got back, he said.<\/p>\n
By the time he arrived in Nunukan, Rustan hardly had any
\nmoney. The employer had given Malaysia-based agents of the
\nIndonesian labor supply companies RM 1,050 to pay for new
\npassports for each of the workers. Rustan had to pay the labor
\nsupply company to get decent meals and safe drinking water for
\nhis son, in addition to paying for running water for bathing and
\nwashing clothes.<\/p>\n
\"Our boss said we had to get our passport as soon as possible
\nso that we could get back to work. It is a big plantation and we
\nare desperately needed there. The company said our monthly salary
\nwould be cut by RM 50 to RM 100 upon our return,\" Rustan told The
\nJakarta Post as he looked after Ruslan, now 14 months old.<\/p>\n
The family stayed for a month on a sidewalk in front of a shop
\non Jl. TVRI in downtown Nunukan. They were then moved to a
\nshelter newly built by the regency's administration in the
\nTanjung Mambunut campground last Thursday after PT Mitra claimed
\nRustan was not on the list of migrant workers it had sent to
\nMalaysia.<\/p>\n
Over 23,000 Indonesian migrant workers are camping in Nunukan,
\nwaiting for legal entry back to Malaysia or to board a boat back
\nhome.<\/p>\n
His unrealized dream will force Rustan to leave his son in the
\ncare of relatives back home soon after the couple obtain their
\npassports since the Sabah government refuses to allow anyone
\nwithout a work permit to enter the state.<\/p>\n
\"What else can we do? I could work at home, but it wouldn't be
\nenough. Moreover, I'm ashamed to go back for good,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Most Indonesian migrant workers working in the Sabah region
\ncome from Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi and islands in eastern
\nIndonesia, where development has been neglected by the government
\nfor decades.<\/p>\n
Farming and fishing cannot meet their needs for a better life
\nsimilar to living in the western part of the country.<\/p>\n
Rustan is lucky to have relatives back in Rappang and his wife
\nto work with on the Malaysian plantation.<\/p>\n
Carla Losor of Ende, East Nusa Tenggara, did not get a job
\noffer. With her 18-month-old twins Carles and Carlos, she left
\nher husband Marcelinus Sega and elder daughter Kety in Sabah to
\nget a visitor's permit, which is valid for one month.<\/p>\n
The new Malaysian labor law has put her life in turmoil, since
\nshe doesn't have any skills to join the labor force nor the heart
\nto leave her toddlers.<\/p>\n
Not all that glitters is gold for 50-year-old Petrus Manu of
\nFlores, East Nusa Tenggara, who has been married to a Malaysian
\nfor 20 years, during which he experienced hardship as an
\nIndonesian in the neighboring land.<\/p>\n
\"The police repeatedly arrested us, took our money, jewelry
\nand wristwatches. They stripped us naked to make sure we weren't
\nhiding anything else. They took the girls out of the detention
\ncenter and returned them after hours. It has become common
\npractice for us to give money to the police although we were
\nworking there legally. The local administration even made me
\ncarry an identity card, which is still valid as well as my work
\npermit.<\/p>\n
\"If it was not because of my four children back home in Sabah
\nand my crippled wife working alone on our vegetable farm, I would
\ngo back to my hometown. I may not be living well back home, but
\nat least I would not have to live in fear,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dream-becomes-nightmare-for-workers-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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