Arroyo shows her concern

Arroyo shows her concern

Malaysia has suspended the deportation of illegal Filipino
migrants after a deal was reached between Malaysian Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Reports said that Arroyo called Mahathir last Friday saying
that a team would be dispatched to Malaysia to investigate the
conditions in which the migrants were being held in detention
centers in Malaysia before they were sent home.

The dialog and negotiations between Manila and Kuala Lumpur
have borne fruit.

Waves of anti-Malaysian demonstrations have taken place in the
Philippines, including the burning of Malaysian flags, after the
deaths of several infants due to the unsanitary conditions in the
detention centers (in Malaysia).

The expulsion of illegal workers from Malaysia has become a
regional issue. This is a matter of economics and law that
concerns all the people of Southeast Asia.

Arroyo stated in radio speeches that she had visited Tawi-Tawi
where illegal Filipino workers expelled from the Malaysian state
of Sabah were concentrated. She told fellow Filipinos that it was
the time to stand up for humanitarianism.

Arroyo has witnessed at firsthand the true suffering of her
fellow Filipinos expelled from Sabah, and she described it as a
tragedy.

Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri has never done
what Arroyo did to show concern for the expelled workers.
Megawati has not even made a statement on the issue.

-- Harian Ekonomi Neraca, Jakarta