Workers for Malaysia<\/p>\n
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told President
\nSoeharto in Jakarta last week that his country needs 17,000
\nworkers from here. They will be employed on Malaysian
\nplantations. Whether the request can be met or not depends very
\nmuch on the ability of the neighboring countries to solve their
\nremaining labor problems.<\/p>\n
The main problems existing between Indonesia and Malaysia are
\nthe influx of illegal Indonesian workers there and protection for
\nlegal workers.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government has done so much in its efforts to
\nimprove the supply and training of overseas workers. The goal is
\nto improve the workers' skills and protect them all the way from
\ntheir hometowns to their destination abroad.<\/p>\n
But the government seems to need to reflect on the true
\nfunction of workers in the context of national development.
\nAt home, creating job opportunities remain a tough challenge. The
\neconomic growth which stands between six and seven percent
\nannually is still too low to provide jobs for the more than 2.5
\nmillion Indonesians who enter the job market every year.
\nExporting workers is one way to overcome the crisis.<\/p>\n
The workers have played a pivotal role in overcoming social
\nproblems at home. So they deserve protection from abuse or
\nexploitation by certain elements here.<\/p>\n
Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief sees another function of
\nworkers. He said recently that if the sending of workers is
\nmanaged professionally they can contribute about US$18 billion
\nin foreign currency to the nation during the current sixth
\nNational Development Plan.<\/p>\n
-- Kompas<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/workers-for-malaysia-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }