Returnees still want to work abroad illegally<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post,
\nJakarta\/Medan<\/p>\n
Despite the tougher policy against illegal migrant workers in
\nMalaysia, the country remains a mecca for cash-strapped
\nIndonesians who wish to change their lives.<\/p>\n
Still fresh from a bitter exodus home, some Indonesian illegal
\nworkers vowed on Monday to try again to enter Malaysia or some
\nother destination illegally.<\/p>\n
Andi, 27, from Sukorejo Wetan, Rejotangan, Tulungagung, East
\nJava, said on Monday he would avoid complying with the proper
\nprocedures that in the past required him to fill out many
\napplication forms, pay a lot of fees to legal overseas labor
\nsuppliers and have his monthly salary cut.<\/p>\n
\"It's useless to register with an authorized labor export
\nsupplier. We would prefer to become illegal workers as we've
\nknown how to get there since the 1980s, even though we must take
\nmany risks,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"Many people here don't trust the labor export companies.\"
\nAndi was unemployed when he decided to travel to work in Malaysia
\n10 years ago illegally.<\/p>\n
According to him, someone who works legally in Malaysia must
\nspend at least Rp 4 million (US$444) to pay off the legal
\nsupplier and later, his or her salary must be cut monthly.<\/p>\n
\"But as illegal workers, we only pay Rp 2.5 million to a
\ntekong (illegal supplier) and receive a full wage every month,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Andi, who is still unmarried, illegally worked for years as a
\nconstruction worker in Kuala Lumpur and was paid Rp 7 million a
\nmonth as he had already worked there more than five years.<\/p>\n
Previously, he received a salary of about Rp 3.5 million per
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
Laughing, he said that with this sort of money, he could save
\nabout Rp 2.5 million a month or some Rp 30 million a year.<\/p>\n
\"I want to build my own house and get married here
\n(Tulungagung),\" he said.<\/p>\n
Andi added he would be unable to accomplish his dream if he
\nstayed at home and became a farmer with about one hectare of
\npaddy fields.<\/p>\n
\"As a farmer who owns a small field, what can you expect? It's
\nonly enough to subsist on,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He realized that in Malaysia he was vulnerable and enjoyed no
\nlegal protection, but he found his employer never withheld his
\nsalary and he had never been caught by the police.<\/p>\n
\"I heard my employer has backing from Malaysian government
\nofficials,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Another former illegal worker, Indro, 24, from Tulungagung,
\nshared the same view with Andi.<\/p>\n
\"Malaysia has been a haven for illegal workers over the past
\nfew years. It's close to us, the salary is high and we have no
\njob at home, so it's stupid if we don't go there,\" Indro, who has
\nworked in Malaysia since 1998, told the Post.<\/p>\n
He claimed that many of his friends could build mansions after
\nreturning from Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Andi and Indro are among the 480,000 illegal Indonesian
\nworkers who have returned home due to the implementation of
\nMalaysia's new Immigration Act on Aug. 1., which threatens
\nillegal workers with canning, fines and jail sentences.<\/p>\n
The two arrived home about three weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Sopar, 38, and his wife Suwanti, 31, said upon their arrival
\nthat they had worked illegally in Malaysia since 1998 to raise
\nmoney for their children's schooling.<\/p>\n
\"We only applied for tourist visas to go there. With the help
\nof our friends there, we were able to find jobs with high
\nsalaries,\" Sopar said, adding he was paid Rp 115,000 per day in
\nMalaysia.<\/p>\n
Although he has returned home, if he has a chance he would
\nsneak back into Malaysia as he wanted to earn more money for his
\nchildren.<\/p>\n
Separately, Andi and Indro said they would temporarily stay at
\nhome, but later on they planned to work illegally overseas again.<\/p>\n
\"I'd prefer to go to South Korea as many friends of mine work
\nthere illegally and the salaries are higher than those in
\nMalaysia,\" Indro said.<\/p>\n
\"I may go to Taiwan, Korea or Hongkong,\" Andi said.<\/p>\n
Both have been informed by their friends that these countries
\nare not as strict as Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Syaufii Syamsuddin, an expert with the Ministry of Manpower
\nand Transmigration admitted that many chose to work overseas
\nillegally mainly due to the many fees imposed by legal labor
\nsuppliers.<\/p>\n
However, he said suppliers imposed such fees because many
\noverseas employers were reluctant to cover the costs associated
\nwith employing foreign workers.<\/p>\n
\"The suppliers don't want to suffer losses. So they charge
\noverseas workers fees that are supposed to be paid by their
\nemployers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the government had faced difficulties in controlling
\nthe practice as it was dictated by the market.<\/p>\n
Syaufii also admitted that the government had yet to decide on
\nconcrete action to resolve the problems of illegal workers.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/returnees-still-want-to-work-abroad-illegally-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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