E. Malaysia may accept Indonesians
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite the government's failure to obtain assurance from the Malaysian government that Indonesian workers without the required permits could return to Malaysia, at least 5,000 illegal workers may be able to work legally again in East Malaysia, a report said.
Augustine Chin, a Malaysian labor recruitment agent in Sarawak, East Malaysia, said Sarawak needed 5,000 legal workers to be taken from the returned illegal Indonesian workers for its plantation.
"Workers who remain in Nunukan, East Kalimantan are applying for passports to work legally in East Malaysia," he told The Jakarta Post.
He said his company, the Agency Pekerjaan Kekal Abadi Sdn. Bhd., also facilitated the processing of documents needed for the illegal workers who wanted to return to work legally in Malaysia.
The clearance was given by the immigration office in Sarawak, he added.
According to him, Sabah also required legal workers from Indonesia, for which 700 former illegal workers had taken the opportunity.
"More and more former illegal workers are applying to work again in Sabah," he said.
Chin said the demand for Indonesian workers in East Malaysia remained quite high.
"Companies in East Malaysia only want Indonesian workers. There have been approaches from India and Bangladesh but they failed to convince the companies."
The businessman said factors such as the similar culture and language were the main reasons why East Malaysian companies preferred Indonesian workers.
Up to 480,000 illegal Indonesia migrant workers must return home after the Malaysian government implemented a new Immigration Act on Aug. 1.
The new Act threatens illegal migrants with caning, fines and prison sentences.
Of the total illegal workers, 240,000 are expected to return home from East Malaysia through Nunukan.
Chin, however, claimed the number was exaggerated, saying that the illegal Indonesian workers in East Malaysia were only about 30,000. They were working in the 300,000-hectare plantation area in Sarawak before they were forced to return home.
Malaysian courts have sentenced seven illegal immigrants -- five from Indonesia -- with caning and jail sentences in the first cases under the country's harsh new immigration laws, report said.
Separately, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda denied that he was responsible for the government's recent failure to ask Malaysia to sign a deal related to Indonesian workers in Malaysia.
"It's not my responsibility ... Please ask the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla; he handles it," he was quoted by Antara as saying on Saturday.
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said Hassan was to blame for the cancellation of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indonesia and Malaysia on migrant workers.
Meanwhile, Antara reported that some 1,000 illegal workers arrived in Pare-pare, South Sulawesi, from Nunukan on a Navy vessel on Saturday.
The workers were from Southeast Sulawesi, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara, Central Sulawesi, North Sumatra and West Java provinces.