Officials 'lying' about returning workers<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A hearing at the South Sulawesi provincial legislature about the
\nhandling of illegal migrant workers returning from Malaysia
\nturned ugly on Thursday, with councillors accusing government
\nofficials of lying.<\/p>\n
During the hearing a member of council Commission E for the
\npeople's welfare, Adil Patu, said the Parepare head of the
\nmanpower and transmigration office, Nawasir Nawawi, had misled
\nthe public by claiming his office had taken care of more than
\n3,000 returning migrant workers.<\/p>\n
Adil lost his temper when Nawasir failed to provide concrete
\ndata on how the money had been spent.<\/p>\n
\"How could you say your office is taking care of thousands of
\nmigrant workers while in fact only a few have arrived at the
\nParepare seaport?\" Adil said as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
Visiting the port on Wednesday, Governor Amin Syam met only
\nthree illegal migrant workers who left Malaysia under an amnesty
\nprogram. On the same day, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
\ngreeted hundreds of returning migrant workers in two ports in
\nRiau.<\/p>\n
\"I doubt the accountability of the provincial manpower office
\nin using the emergency funds,\" Adil told the officials, who
\nincluded provincial manpower office head Syahlan Solthan.<\/p>\n
Another councillor, Andi Tja Tjambolang, said the office had
\nalso wasted Rp 140 billion (US$15.3 million) in central
\ngovernment funds allocated to tackle the likely increased
\nunemployment resulting from the mass return.<\/p>\n
An estimated 400,000 migrants are expected to stream into the
\ncountry following Malaysia's offer to grant them amnesty before
\nthe Idul Fitri holiday. The amnesty lasts until Nov. 14.<\/p>\n
In Kupang, the East Nusa Tenggara health office said it would
\nrequire all returning migrant workers to undergo blood tests to
\nprevent the possible spread of sexually transmitted diseases.<\/p>\n
Separately, Director General of Labor Placement Overseas, I
\nGusti Made Arka, said as of Thursday the Indonesian Embassy in
\nMalaysia had issued about 30,000 substitute passport documents
\nand opened 20 more counters to serve illegal Indonesian migrants
\nwho wished to return home.<\/p>\n
The counters would stay open until 9 p.m. local time, said
\nArka, who is in Kuala Lumpur along with manpower minister Fahmi
\nIdris to assist the migrants' exit.<\/p>\n
Arka said the government was anticipating a boom in demand for
\nthe documents after Sunday, as most workers in Malaysia received
\ntheir wages on the seventh day of the month.<\/p>\n
He said the Malaysian Home Ministry had asked all employers to
\npay the wages of their Indonesian workers on time before their
\ndeparture.<\/p>\n
Fahmi is scheduled to hold talks with Malaysian Prime Minister
\nAbdullah Ahmad Badawi on Friday about labor export issues.<\/p>\n
Arka said many Malaysian employers had expressed concern that
\nthey would no longer be able to employ Indonesian workers.<\/p>\n
Office data revealed 90 percent of Indonesian workers employed
\nin Malaysia were using tourist visas, he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/officials-lying-about-returning-workers-1447893297",
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