Discrimination in immigration rules

On May 27, 2001, at 2 p.m. Singapore time, I entered Singapore's Woodland immigration checkpoint by a KTM train from Kuala Lumpur. For the first time in my life, the immigration officer on duty at the counter inquired how much money I had with me. I said I had 800 dollars and 400 ringgit. Without further comment, the officer refused to stamp my passport and asked me to enter a special inspection room. Here I met an officer who spoke to me rudely. Speaking in the Melayu language he said that the law stipulates that anybody entering Singapore must have with him/her a minimum of 1500 dollars. I replied in polite English that I had visited Singapore almost fifty times but had never experienced this kind of treatment.

I also said that on some occasions I took with me less than 100 dollars as I had a bank account in Singapore and an ATM card from the Bank of Singapore and also a number of credit cards issued by foreign banks. The officer did not respond to me but insisted instead that the law requires any visitor to have a minimum of 1500 dollars with him/her when entering Singapore. I asked again why this law was not applied to everybody visiting Singapore.

I know for certain thousands of people from Johor visiting Singapore for a few hours will not carry more than 1600 dollars. Then the officer retorted that the reason was that I was an Indonesian. I was really offended by this and told the officer I had come to Singapore not to beg or look for employment. I said I had a well-paid job in Indonesia and could afford to stay in a star-rated hotel in Singapore. After a long debate finally the officer allowed me to enter Singapore but not until he put a code, undecipherable to me, on my passport. When I left Singapore through the World Trade Center gate, I told this experience to one of the immigration officers on duty. I was told that this regulation was not mandatory. The officer could not understand why his colleague at Woodland had treated me so badly.

The discriminatory treatment of Indonesians, particularly non- ethnic Chinese, is an open secret. Once, a friend of mine was badly treated when he was going to enter Singapore through Batam for shopping, simply because they assumed he was a migrant worker.

As a matter of fact, as a country whose income depends upon the provision of services, Singapore relies heavily on its neighbors. Without Indonesia and Malaysia, Singapore is just like a hawker sans buyers. Just look at a number of shopping malls and hotels in Singapore. These places are crowded with Indonesians. Then the base market of hundreds of service companies in Singapore is also Indonesia. So, does Singapore still consider Indonesia a nation of beggars, so that every time an Indonesian enters Singapore he/she is suspected of being a beggar or worse still even a thief?

In fact, unlike in Malaysia, in Singapore there are virtually no immigration violations committed by Indonesian citizens. Unlike in Malaysia, in Singapore the immigration officers cannot be bribed and we, of course, are aware of this reality. On the other hand there are quite a few violations committed by Singaporean citizens in Indonesia. In Batam and surrounding areas there are many Singaporean citizens holding only tourists visas but working there, though only for a few days.

SULFAN HIDAYAT

Tanjung Balai Karimun