Malaysia deports 2,500 illegal RI workers<\/p>\n
Reuters, Pasir Gudang, Malaysia<\/p>\n
Malaysia carried out its largest ever deportation of illegal
\nimmigrants on Monday, sending back around 2,500 Indonesian
\nworkers on two Indonesian naval ships under armed escort.<\/p>\n
Indonesian marines and Malaysian policemen armed with rifles
\nand batons stood watch as the workers boarded the Teluk Langsa
\nand Tanjung Kambani at Pasir Gudang port in southern Johor state.<\/p>\n
The repatriation, which was trouble-free, cost Malaysia
\n425,000 ringgit (US$112,000) and 1,700 Indonesians will be sent
\nhome in a similar exercise next month.<\/p>\n
There were smiles and tears as the men, women and children
\nwalked up the gangplank. They were due to reach Surabaya in East
\nJava on Nov. 24.<\/p>\n
Some of the men had worked in oil palm plantations and
\nconstruction sites and the women as maids and karaoke hostesses.<\/p>\n
\"I am happy to go home,\" said Paharti, a 27-year-old woman
\nfrom East Java who worked illegally as a cook.<\/p>\n
Some of the men, who declined to be named, alleged they were
\nbeaten while in custody although Indonesian officials played down
\nsuch claims.<\/p>\n
\"These things happened, many were beaten up,\" said one, who
\nspent a month in an immigration camp in the northern state of
\nPerak.<\/p>\n
Illegal immigration is a serious issue for Malaysia, which has
\na population of 23 million and is a favored destination for
\nworkers from its more populous, poorer neighbors.<\/p>\n
Malaysia is home to more than a million foreign workers, most
\nof them from Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Myanmar and
\nthe Philippines.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian government said it would begin deporting about
\n300,000 foreign workers from this month to cut down on foreign
\nlabor in certain industries to free up jobs for locals affected
\nby the economic slowdown.<\/p>\n
Government officials said the deportees had overstayed their
\npermits. Under a new ruling, the government will issue only
\nthree-year work permits, compared with six or seven years
\npreviously.<\/p>\n
Under the plan, foreigners working on plantations, in
\nmanufacturing or construction sectors who have been in Malaysia
\nfor three years or more will be given up to three months to
\nleave.<\/p>\n
Immigration Department Director-General Jamal Kamdi told a
\nnews conference that there are now 700,000 legal foreign workers
\nin Malaysia, of which 80 percent are Indonesian.<\/p>\n
He said Malaysia has deported 124,000 illegal workers so far
\nthis year, up from 103,000 for the whole of last year.<\/p>\n
\"Our target is 150,000 this year,\" he said.<\/p>\n
An Indonesian government minister said Jakarta would step up
\nefforts to stem the tide of illegal immigrants heading for
\nMalaysia.<\/p>\n
\"We will also take stern action against human traffickers,\"
\nIndonesian Manpower and Transmigration Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea,
\nin Malaysia to witness the deportation, told reporters. He did
\nnot elaborate.<\/p>\n
He urged Malaysia to hire more legal workers from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"If it is possible, we can send more workers (legally) to
\nMalaysia. After all, Indonesia and Malaysia are part of the Malay
\narchipelago and we are one big family,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysia-deports-2500-illegal-ri-workers-1447893297",
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