17 TKIs have died in Nunukan camps: Officials
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
At least 17 Indonesian workers (TKIs) evicted from Malaysia have died of dysentery, diarrhea, and asthma in refugee camps in Nunukan regency, East Kalimantan, a local government official says.
Nunukan deputy regent Kasmir Fored said that five of the dead were children. Seven of the dead workers originated from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), eight from South Sulawesi, and two from Java, Antara reported here Tuesday.
But NTT provincial government spokesman Marsel Tupen Masan said in Kupang on Tuesday that as many as 14 migrant workers from that province had died in camps in Nunukan, the latest victim being a young man who passed away on Monday.
Fresh from a visit to Nunukan, Marsel said that dysentery and diarrhea had afflicted thousands of workers in Nunukan.
In Jakarta, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said that almost 75 percent of the 480,000 illegal Indonesian workers in Malaysia had returned home without much difficulty.
"I hope the remaining 25 percent can return to Indonesia safely," Hassan was quoted by Antara as saying.
Hundreds of thousands of Indonesian workers fled to border areas early August after Malaysia implemented new immigration laws that threaten mandatory imprisonment, caning and fines for foreigners working illegally in that country.
Due to its proximity, Nunukan has become the main entry point for returning workers from eastern parts of Indonesia. Tens of thousands of workers are believed to have chosen to stay in makeshift camps in Nunukan to process their documents to return to Malaysia.
The government had pledged Rp 30 billion to help all returning workers reach their home provinces.
Kasmir said hundreds of migrant workers and family members had received medical treatment from local public health centers and medical team members from South Sulawesi's Crisis Center.
Marsel criticized what he called East Nunukan's inhuman handling of migrant workers, alleging that the workers had to pay Rp 1,000 every time they took a bath and Rp 3,000 to do their laundry.
He also said workers wishing to obtain a passport had to pay as much as Rp 650,000 for a 24-page passport, compared with the official price of Rp 160,000, and Rp 850,000 for a 48-page passport which normally cost Rp 250,000.
The Nunukan Immigration office is issuing at least 1,300 passports daily, and so far about 70,000 workers have obtained passports.
South Sulawesi Governor H.Z.B. Palaguna voiced similar criticisms on Tuesday, accusing the Nunukan Immigration office of incompetence.
Palaguna, who is currently visiting immigrant workers from South Sulawesi in Nunukan, was particularly irked by Nunukan Immigration's decision to accept temporary identification cards and family cards to obtain a passport.
The temporary identification cards and family cards, according to Palaguna, are provided by labor export companies, which charged workers huge amounts of money for their services.
"Such an arrangement only benefits labor export companies and their counterparts in Sabah, Malaysia only, while migrant workers have to wait for days or weeks to get a passport," said Palaguna, Antara reported Tuesday.
"I feel sad seeing workers waiting for days in Nunukan but still their passports have not been issued, although they had paid between Rp 2.5 million and Rp 3 million to the labor companies," he added.
Nunukan Immigration deputy head Djumrah defended the decision to accept temporary identification cards and family cards, saying that the procedure was adopted after a recommendation from the Indonesian Consulate in Sabah.