End government inaction on migrant issue

End government inaction on migrant issue

Prompt settlement of the migrant worker problem is possible as
long as it is not treated as a political commodity, says
anthropologist M. Arif Nasution who has studied migrant workers.
Soon to be installed as professor at North Sumatra University, he
spoke to The Jakarta Post's correspondent Apriadi Gunawan in
Medan. An excerpt of the interview follows:

Question: What were the significant results of your research?

Answer: The research was funded by the Malaysian government
when I was teaching at the Universitas Kebangsaan Malaysia from
1992 to 1997. Malaysia is indeed heavily dependent on Indonesian
workers... Then there are the many hours of unpaid work ...

The Malaysian government knows that workers from Indonesia are
good, hardworking -- and easy to fool. It is simply not possible
to replace such a large, hardworking labor force ...

The unequal economic position between the two countries is not
necessarily the main reason why Indonesians end up in Malaysia;
it is more to do with the role of labor supply agents, brokers
and (prospective employers) in Malaysia.

Q: But what's the main reason why Indonesians go there?

A: Economic necessity, particularly in the crisis. But they
initially did not have a clue where to go, and so placed
themselves in the hands of brokers who offered to send them
abroad.

Brunei, Saudi Arabia and other countries are more attractive.
But workers clearly have no information on which to make a choice
of destination. Even the cultural and language similarities are
not a significant factor compared with their access to Malaysia
through brokers, both illegally or legally...

Q: What about the syndicates involved?

A: Not only businesspeople are involved but also the (Indonesian
and Malaysian) officials (since) the period of earlier labor
ministers (in the 1980s) -- Sudomo, Abdul Latief -- until now.
It's mostly officials that own the labor supply firms -- so it's
officials who often initiate the illegal process.

Malaysian bureaucrats are also involved in providing
transportation, even taking workers up to the shelters near the
mangrove forests. Such Malaysians earn 50 ringgit for each
Indonesian worker they can supply. Residents also benefit from
providing shelter for the Indonesians...

Q: Which areas in Indonesia send the most illegal workers?

A: We must first differentiate the types of illegal workers.
There are workers who immediately become illegal, "sold" by
brokers operating both illegally or legally.

Then there are others who entered legally but became illegal
in Malaysia. They might have thrown their passport and other
documents away because of the red tape involved. Employers don't
want this (fuss) either.

Those who entered illegally are mostly from East Java and
(East and West) Nusa Tenggara. About 60 percent of illegal
workers from Sumatra and East Java entered the country through
peninsular Malaysia or the western part. Those from Nusa
Tenggara, Sulawesi and Kalimantan mostly enter through Serawak
and Sabah. People from East Java usually go to Jakarta first,
then take a bus to North Sumatra or straight to Riau.

Then they are taken across the sea to Johor Baru, Port Klang,
Malaka and other places. They usually use tongkang (traditional
wooden boats). They disembark before the destination port and
enter the streams where water reaches a man's waist, thus
escaping the eye of the patrols. Then they walk along the swamps
for about five kilometers to shelters where locals live.

Q: It is reported that Chinese traders left the Chaw Kit area
once Indonesians came, to the disbelief of the Malays...

A: Initially Malaysians in general could not believe that
Indonesians could replace traders in Chaw Kit, as Indonesians
were only thought to suit blue collar work; as is the case with
the Javanese and those from eastern areas like Bima, Buton and
East and West Nusa Tenggara in Malaysia. Those who could replace
the Chinese traders are those from Sumatra -- mainly people of
Aceh, Mandailing and Minang -- who dominated Chaw Kit since 1985.

The British colonial government gave the first opportunity to
the Chinese (in trade), while Malays cannot unite, they have such
diverse political views.

Q: Are there specialities among other Indonesian ethnic groups?

A: Those from Bima, Flores or Buton dominate farming; the
Javanese are generally in construction and plantation. Trade is
dominated by Sumatrans, but strangely, almost all jamu
(traditional herb) importers in Malaysia are from Aceh.

Q: Which sector employs the most illegal workers?

A: About half are in construction, the remainder in plantations,
mainly in the cocoa, rubber and oil palm sectors. Agriculture is
the easiest sector to enter as the locations are less visible to
officials. Workers (usually men) seek information and then move
to construction. Women usually seek domestic or other work.

Q: Didn't the Indonesian government ever anticipate Malaysia's
tough response toward illegal workers?

A: Diplomacy to help the workers has been limited to meaningless
talk. The government even seems intent on legalizing this
process. Warships have been sent to bring the workers home while
the government has closed its eyes to the tongkang carrying our
workers back to Malaysia.

Our main weakness is the absence of a special department
handling the sending of workers overseas (despite) the law
referring to the involvement of a number of government offices.

Given the direct relation (of this issue) to providing foreign
exchange, why don't we establish a special ministry or department
to handle migrant workers? At least, a state office in charge of
international labor mobility, as we find in the Philippines,
Pakistan and India.

Q: What must be done given the deportation of illegal workers?

A: Our embassy must actively provide reports on our workers,
legal or illegal, to Jakarta. This was not done despite signs
from the Malaysian government that it would deport our workers.
The embassy should have given feedback to the government in
Jakarta on the actions to be taken prior to deportation.

So the most important thing now is not to politicize the
matter on either side. Both countries should view this as a labor
issue, which must be settled accordingly.

The methods and decisions taken might contain political
elements but they should not become political ends. Each country
must respect the other's law. The difficulty now is the political
needs (of the government) related to its standing in both the
domestic and international stage...