72,000 RI workers sent home from Malaysia

JAKARTA (JP): A total of 72,191 Indonesians in Malaysia have been sent home to their places of origin in various parts of Indonesia, Antara quoted Malaysian authorities in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

Malaysian immigration director Aseh Cha Mat said the Indonesians left through 23 immigration checkpoints throughout the peninsula. Most entered Malaysia illegally or did not have working permits.

The Malaysian government, on the occasion of the country's National Day, has granted a pardon to illegal foreign residents and allowed them to return to their country. The amnesty is effective from Sept. 1 through Oct. 31, 1998.

Before leaving Malaysia, the Indonesians were required to obtain a travel document in lieu of a passport from the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur or the Indonesian Consulates in Johor Baru and Pinang Island.

By mid-October, the embassy had issued 27,000 travel papers, and the Indonesian Consul in Johor Baru another 18,000.

Most of the Indonesians hailed from East Java, followed by West Nusa Tenggara, Central Java and Riau.

Other illegal workers in Malaysia came from Bangladesh, the Philippines, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Nepal, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.

Malaysian television on Oct. 25 showed large numbers of passengers at the Malacca seaport about to cross the Malacca Strait to Riau.

The Indonesians mostly returned by ferry from Johor Baru to Batam Island and Tanjung Pinang, and from Malacca port to Dumai in Riau.

Antara said many ferry passengers in Johor Baru had to spend a whole day at the Setulang Laut ferry port waiting for their turn to board.

According to a Johor Baru travel bureau, most of the ferry passengers heading for Tanjung Pinang were people who will continue their journey to Java island.

The boat ferrying passengers from Tandjung Pinang to Jakarta leaves for Java every Sunday, meaning that the Indonesians would have to wait for days for their turn.

Some of the better-off chose to fly home by foreign airlines because flying the flag-carrier Garuda was more expensive.