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