72,000 RI workers sent home from Malaysia
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.