64 workers, children die in Nunukan
Fitri Wulandari and Tertiani Z.B. Simanjuntak, Nunukan, East Kalimantan
At least 64 illegal Indonesian workers and their children here have died from illnesses in the past month after they fled Malaysia, relief workers and health officials said on Saturday.
Indonesian relief workers said the fate of the some 22,000 people stranded in the East Kalimantan town of Nunukan, near the border with Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island, was a national disaster.
The migrant workers and their families have been sleeping in open spaces, marketplaces and on sidewalks across the town. Their plight has been worsened by a lack of food and clean water. Most of the deaths were caused by respiratory problems and diarrhea. Some have managed to erect makeshift tents.
The returnees in Nunukan are the latest in a wave of illegals hounded out by the Malaysian authorities after Kuala Lumpur cracked down on an estimated 600,000 undocumented workers.
Nunukan is located some 1,700 km northeast of Jakarta. The town's only public health center is barely able to cope with the illegal migrants.
"There are 10 medical staff, but only three are really working. The rest are either sick or involved in other duties, including training. The three medical staff are stretched between the health center and nine health posts set up across the town to help the refugees," Hapsah Amir, head nurse at the health center, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Hapsah said the Nunukan administration had asked the Ministry of Health to send additional medical personnel but so far had received no response.
The head of the administration of the Nunukan Health Office, M. Jafri Usman, added that most of the workers who had died in Nunukan had contracted illnesses while still in Malaysia.
"They were held in temporary camps in Malaysia prior to leaving and the conditions there were very, very bad. Many suffered from diarrhea and respiratory problems," Jafri told the Post.
Matters will likely worsen as between 500 and 600 workers are entering Nunukan each day from South Sulawesi, hoping to return to Malaysia. Their arrival has further aggravated the situation, since the town's population of 40,000 and its facilities are in no way designed to cope with such an influx.
The government's lack of attention to the fate of the migrant workers has prompted criticism.
Chairman of the United Democratic National Party (PDK) Ryaas Rasyid said the government's handling of the migrant worker disaster lacked clarity and sensitivity.
"What is clear is that President Megawati Soekarnoputri will go ahead with her foreign trip at a time when she is needed at home," Ryaas said as quoted by Antara.
Ryaas added that the government was insensitive and Cabinet ministers irresponsible for allowing the conditions in Nunukan to get so bad.
PDK co-founder Andi Mallarangeng added that Indonesia should treat its workers as heroes, the way the Philippines did.
"Their workers were deported and were welcomed by their president on arriving home," said Mallarangeng.
Malaysia's government gave illegal immigrants, the majority of them Indonesians, until Aug. 31 to leave or face penalties of six months' jail, fines and up to six strokes of the cane. The deadline was later extended for one month.
The issue has enraged politicians in Indonesia and the Philippines and underscored some of the latent tensions smoldering under the surface in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia has long supplied Malaysia with workers for its construction and manufacturing sectors. But after a series of violent incidents, mainly involving Indonesians, and an economic slowdown, Malaysia intensified its crackdown on illegal workers.
Meanwhile, around 80,000 Indonesians were still stranded in Sabah as the Aug. 31, 2002 deadline for illegal workers to leave Malaysia expired at midnight. They now face arrest and caning.
Indonesia and Malaysia are scheduled to hold talks on the migrant worker issue later this month. The talks will focus on worker protection, remuneration and rights.