The spirit of cooperation<\/p>\n
As the human drama that is affecting hundreds of thousands of
\nIndonesian migrant workers who are being expelled from Malaysia
\ncontinues to unfold, observers here are placing their hopes for a
\nsolution to the problem on a top-level meeting that is slated to
\ntake place on Wednesday in Bali between the two countries' heads
\nof government.<\/p>\n
There, in the peaceful environment of Bali, barring unforeseen
\ndevelopments, Indonesia's President Megawati Soekarnoputri will
\nmeet with Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Among the
\nseveral various issues that both may want to broach on this
\noccasion, no doubt that of the so-called Indonesian illegals will
\ndominate the discussions.<\/p>\n
A high-level meeting between the top leaders of the two
\nneighboring countries to come to some sort of accord on this
\ncurrently burning issue is indeed urgently needed. With the
\neconomy in tatters here after almost six years of crisis and tens
\nof thousands of internally displaced people from provinces torn
\nby conflict to feed and shelter, Indonesia now has to find a
\nplace for the estimated half a million illegal workers -- mostly
\nunskilled laborers -- from Malaysia whom it can hardly afford to
\nfeed.<\/p>\n
One could bemoan the fact that the Indonesian authorities --
\nas usual, one is tempted to say -- failed to adequately
\nanticipate this newest quandary much earlier, given that the new
\nMalaysian immigration law, under which the expulsion is being
\nexecuted, had been hanging over the illegals' heads for months in
\nadvance. As a consequence, thousands of Indonesian workers who
\nhave been expelled from Malaysia are forced to wait in dire
\ncircumstances at ports, on boats, in trucks and at border posts,
\nwaiting to go back to the towns and villages from whence they
\ncame.<\/p>\n
All the government can do at this stage is to appeal to the
\nMalaysian authorities to allow the workers some respite and delay
\nimplementing the new law so as to give them and Jakarta enough
\ntime to prepare for the necessary measures to be taken. Indeed,
\nit appears that on the Malaysian side as well, some harmful
\neffects have resulted from the sudden expulsion of workers, and
\nmore time might be needed.<\/p>\n
Reports of labor shortages in the construction and estate
\nsectors in Malaysia following the mass expulsion of illegal
\nIndonesian workers, seems to indicate that this might indeed be
\ntrue. What seems to be the problem is that plans worked out in
\nKuala Lumpur to replace the Indonesian workers with others from
\nBangladesh and elsewhere in the region have not exactly worked
\nout as expected. Seen from this perspective, the Indonesian
\nappeal for a delay appears reasonable enough. It would benefit
\nthe short-term interests of not only the Indonesian workers but
\nthe Malaysian employers as well.<\/p>\n
Be that as it may, both Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur must stop
\nlooking at the issue as a problem that concerns their two
\ncountries only. Nowadays, no country in the world can afford to
\nbe isolationist and act in total disregard of the needs and
\ninterests of others. Clearly, Indonesia can ill afford a Malaysia
\nthat is destabilized by economic hardship due to a labor force
\nthat is bloated by an excessive number of migrant workers from
\nelsewhere. On the other hand neither can Malaysia afford to have
\nan Indonesia that is destabilized by unemployment and poverty on
\nits border. On a wider scale, economic problems in one country
\ncould affect the region as a whole.<\/p>\n
It is time that both Jakarta and Malaysia sit down, set their
\nemotions aside and discuss the issue of the illegal workers
\nrationally with an eye on the interests of both. By so doing,
\nthey would be doing not only themselves, but the whole Southeast
\nAsian region a service. Surely, a solution can be found that is
\nof benefit to the interests of both Indonesia and Malaysia. It is
\nin this spirit that the meeting starting today between President
\nMegawati and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad should be held.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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