Illegal workers returning from Malaysia treated like refugees here<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post,
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Illegal Indonesian workers returning from Malaysia and
\nstranded in border areas like Nunukan in East Kalimantan will be
\ntreated like refugees and receive 400 grams of rice and Rp 1,500
\n(16.6 U.S. cents) allowance per person from the government daily,
\na high-ranking official said.<\/p>\n
The directorate general for social assistance at the Ministry
\nof Social Affairs Sumarjati Arjoso said on Friday that such
\ntreatment would last for one month and did not apply to workers
\nwho took direct journeys to their home villages.<\/p>\n
\"We (central government) will try to do our best to serve
\nworkers returning from Malaysia who can't afford to go back
\nhome,\" she told The Jakarta Post after a coordination meeting
\nwith officials from other related institutions including the Navy
\nand the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration.<\/p>\n
For most people here, however, the Rp 1,500 allowance is only
\nenough to buy one-half liter of bottled mineral water.<\/p>\n
Such treatment may further draw criticism as the government
\nwas previously deemed to have made sluggish efforts in its
\nhandling of the problem of the 480,000 illegal Indonesian.<\/p>\n
The government has reportedly encouraged the illegal workers
\nto return home at their own expense.<\/p>\n
Some of the illegal workers in West Malaysia are able to
\nfinance their trips, but many in East Malaysia apparently cannot.<\/p>\n
The government has been criticized for not being concerned for
\ntheir welfare, despite their illegal status, as most of them are
\namong the overseas workers who annually contribute about $500
\nmillion per year to the country's economy by sending money back
\nhome to family members.<\/p>\n
To this point, some 250,000 illegal workers have returned to
\nIndonesia, according to Hary Heriawan Saleh, a senior official at
\nthe Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration.<\/p>\n
However, over 100,000 workers returning from Kuching, Kinabalu
\nand Tawao in East Malaysia are still stranded in Nunukan.<\/p>\n
While they are in transit at the border areas, Sumarjati said
\nthe stranded workers would also be given free medicine and
\nmedical checkups.<\/p>\n
\"The government will also prepare some tents for the workers
\nif necessary, but so far local people have allowed them to stay
\nat their houses,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The official said there were also more than six vessels --
\nincluding four from the Navy and the other two from the
\ngovernment -- to transport the illegal workers but the ships were
\nonly able to carry some 2,000 to return to their home provinces
\nper trip.<\/p>\n
\"We'll take care of the workers until they get to their own
\nprovince. Then, the provincial officials will take over the
\nresponsibility to handle them,\" she said.<\/p>\n
After their arrival in their home villages, the ministry of
\nmanpower and transmigration will start re-training the workers to
\nupgrade their skills so that, if they want to work in Malaysia
\nlegally, they have a better chance, she said.<\/p>\n
However, it is still unclear as to what programs the
\ngovernment will provide to improve the workers' qualifications.<\/p>\n
In addition to receiving poor treatment at home, Indonesian
\nworkers who are still in Malaysia have reportedly been arrested
\nby Malaysian Police.<\/p>\n
In some areas, local Malaysian police started implementing the
\nImmigration Act on Thursday, which threatens illegal workers with
\nserious punishment.<\/p>\n
But the arrests should not have occurred, as the Malaysian
\ngovernment made an 11th hour decision to delay the repatriation
\nof the illegal immigrants for one month at the request of the
\nIndonesian government.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayuda called on
\nthe Malaysian immigration office on Friday not to arrest the
\nIndonesian workers who were slow to comply.<\/p>\n
\"We ask the Malaysian immigration office not to impose legal
\nmeasures against those waiting to go home as we have issued
\nnecessary documents for them,\" Hassan said.<\/p>\n
The minister further said that the Indonesian embassy in
\nMalaysia had issued 300,000 free documents for the illegal
\nworkers to go home.<\/p>\n
He claimed that the government had increased the frequency of
\nvessels to take the workers out of the neighboring country.<\/p>\n
These workers are registered to go home, but we still have
\ntransportation problems, so we expect the Malaysian authorities
\nto be a little bit more lenient, Hassan said.<\/p>\n
\"We also ask the Malaysian government to give privileges for
\nthose who would like to return to Malaysia, if their employers
\nrequested as much,\" the minister remarked.<\/p>\n
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is scheduled to meet
\nwith President Megawati Soekarnoputri in Jakarta later this month
\nto discuss, among other items, the illegal Indonesian workers.<\/p>",
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