6,000 illegal RI workers still held in Malaysia

JAKARTA (JP): Six thousand illegal Indonesian workers are still being held at Malaysian immigration detention centers, an official at the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said Monday.

"The number may grow as more illegal workers keep coming while operations against them continue," the head of the embassy's immigration section, Hamsuk Santawijaya, was quoted by Antara as saying.

The Indonesian workers are detained in eight immigration detention centers in Penang, Perak, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Johor, Malaka and Kelantan.

Indonesia recently brought home a large number of workers from that country using naval ships.

Hamsuk said Malaysia's repatriation of illegal Indonesian workers would continue. Indonesian illegal workers reportedly outnumber those from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and the Philippines.

Kuala Lumpur passed a regulation last month to reduce the number of foreign workers following the weakening of the Malaysian ringgit against the dollar that increased the cost of imported labor.

Of the 1.7 million foreigners working in Malaysia, 500,000 are legal Indonesian workers while the number of illegal Indonesian laborers is believed to be far greater.

Most of the illegal workers were lured by unauthorized brokers and promised jobs as laborers in coconut plantations and in factories earning up to 15 ringgit (US$4.5 dollars) per day.

Meanwhile, rescuers are continuing the search for 22 deported workers missing after their boat sank in bad weather in the Strait of Malacca on their way to Medan in North Sumatra.

The small wooden boat was overloaded with 40 passengers when it left Penang island in Malaysia and capsized Friday.

Separately yesterday, Muladi of the National Commission on Human Rights said that a team of legislators, who departed for Saudi Arabia recently, must give a detailed explanation about the situation of Indonesian workers there upon returning home.

Muladi spoke to the House of Representatives, Antara reported. There were no other details about the team or when they will return.

Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief said Friday that 359 Indonesians are currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. They have been convicted of various crimes, including theft, overstaying their visas, document forgery and adultery. (10/21)