Malaysian authorities unfair, inhumane: Deported workers<\/p>\n
Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Tanjungpinang<\/p>\n
Deported Indonesian workers have condemned the Malaysian
\nauthorities for what they called unfair and inhumane treatment.<\/p>\n
They stressed that illegal Indonesian migrants were not
\n\"animals,\" but instead human beings who should be allowed lawful
\ntreatment in accordance with basic principles of human rights.<\/p>\n
Rizal, 33, from Bengkalis, said that he detained at a camp in
\nJohar Baru in the middle of last month after he, along with eight
\nother Indonesian co-workers, was taken by force from a
\nconstruction site by Malaysian police.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know how they knew where our employment was. They
\ntook us, one by one, into the back of a pick-up truck by force,
\nand then put us in a detention camp for many days before being
\ndeported by ship,\" he said after stepping off a Malaysian ship in
\nthe Sri Bintan Pura seaport, Tanjungpinang, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
While carrying a bag containing eight pieces of clothing,
\nRizal said that the Malaysian police -- who referred to the
\nIndonesian workers as Indons -- allowed them no opportunities to
\ndefend themselves against deportation unless they produced a
\npassport and proper working papers on the spot.<\/p>\n
\"Of course, I had no official documents to work there, but the
\nMalaysian police cannot treat us like animals and throw us into a
\ndetention camp where we were beaten for violating the rules,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Rizal, one of 3,510 workers who were deported over the last
\ntwo months for not having legal working papers, were deported
\nfollowing a riot at a detention camp inhabited by Indonesian job-
\nseekers in the first week of January.<\/p>\n
He said that he planned go back to his home village in
\nBengkalis Island, Riau, to marry his fiancee, and resume his
\nprevious work as a fisherman.<\/p>\n
He said that he was underpaid, at 500 Malaysian ringgit per
\nmonth, at the construction project, since he lacked legal
\ndocuments. But managed to save M$12,000 after working for
\ntwo-and-a-half years on other such projects in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Mariani, 24, from Palembang, South Sumatra, offered similar
\nexperiences, and said that the Malaysian police showed no
\ntolerance for illegal workers -- especially ones from Indonesia
\n-- due to the recent riots in the states of Johar Baru, and
\nNegeri Sembilan.<\/p>\n
\"I have no objection to being deported, but they should treat
\nus humanely and fairly,\" she said. \"They should not treat
\nbrutally those not involved in the riots -- let them impose
\npenalties against workers involved in the riots, but they should
\nnot act out excessively as if all Indonesian workers were
\ninvolved in the riots,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Mariani, who left her husband and their two children in
\nPalembang, went to work in Malaysia in 1999 because his wife was
\nunemployed.<\/p>\n
In Johar Baru, she worked in a bakery with a monthly salary
\nof M$500. She said that she was underpaid because she was
\nemployed and lacked a working visa, having entered the country
\nthrough Batam illegally.<\/p>\n
Mariani said that she would go straight back home to apply a
\nfor a working visa to return to Johar Baru.<\/p>\n
\"My employer promised to pay me a standard salary if I came
\nback with a passport and working visa,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Following the recent riots involving Indonesian workers, the
\nMalaysian government has cracked down on illegal workers --
\nespecially those from Indonesia -- while imposing stiffer
\npenalties for Malaysians who employed illegal workers.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysian-authorities-unfair-inhumane-deported-workers-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}