DPR angry at smuggling of workers
DPR angry at smuggling of workers
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives (DPR) attacked the
government yesterday for doing little to stop smuggling of
workers to neighboring Malaysia.
The DPR commission I in charge of security and foreign
relations said the Indonesian government seemed to close their
eyes to the long-standing problem of worker smuggling.
"The government should do more to solve the problem before it
brings unwanted consequences," said commission spokesman Soerjo
Handjono in a plenary session discussing the results of
commissions' recent fact-finding visits to provinces.
Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians work legally or otherwise
in the more affluent neighbor, mostly in the construction and
plantation industries.
Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur already have an arrangement on
legalization of Indonesian workers in Malaysia to ensure their
protection. However, illegal workers from Indonesia continue to
stream in.
Handjono warned that illegal sending of workers along with the
rife smuggling of rattan and poaching in Indonesian waters
pose a threat to security if the government fails to take proper
actions.
The commission acknowledged that worker smuggling would remain
unresolved as long as Indonesia remained much less affluent than
Malaysia, where wages are significantly higher than in Indonesia.
Malaysian businesses, especially those in Sabah and Sarawak,
require unskilled workers from Indonesia.
"Illegal worker sending has become a lucrative business for
brokers who collaborate with corrupt officials," Handjono said.
He called on the Ministry of Manpower to intensify its efforts
to stop the flow of illegal workers to Malaysia by improving
coordination with other related ministries and the powerful Armed
Forces (ABRI).
Control over the shipping of workers is so slack that the
government raises the issue of the laborers' plight only when
their boats sink at sea, he said.
West Nusa Tenggara and Java are currently the largest source
of workers to Malaysia. (pan)