Final 1,810 RI workers homebound
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has airlifted almost 22,000 of its illegal workers from Saudi Arabia and is to complete the repatriation with the return of 1,810 people today.
Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief, who arrived at Soekarno Hatta Airport from Jeddah yesterday on one of six flights for returning workers, said 21,969 had been brought home.
The remaining workers are expected to arrive today on six flights.
The latest data from the Indonesian Consular in Jeddah indicated 23,779 "problematic workers" had been involved in the repatriation program but the minister indicated many more may still be living in the oil-rich nation.
The massive airlift began Oct. 15 after Saudi Arabia ended its three-month amnesty period and started flushing out foreigners working illegally there.
Thousands of Indonesians flocked to the embassy in Riyadh and the consular in Jeddah seeking refuge from the local authorities.
The government had initially estimated the number of illegal Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia to be only 5,000. Within days, it revised the number to 9,000, then 10,000, and, only last week, 17,000.
However, Latief estimated there were still up to 150,000 Indonesians working and living illegally in Saudi Arabia. He did not say how he came to that estimation or how the government would deal with the problem.
He said 93.5 percent of the illegal workers were those who intentionally overstayed after performing umrah, the minor Moslem pilgrimage.
The remaining 6.5 percent were those whose working permits were forged or who had left their initial employers and sought other work.
"Eighty percent of them are female workers," Latief said.
According to the latest figure from the ministry, legal Indonesian workers abroad include: 408,211 in Malaysia; 319,444 in Saudi Arabia; 86,209 in Singapore; 26,278 in South Korea; 19,630 in the United Arab Emirates; and 225,567 in Taiwan.
Latief said Indonesia had to ensure stricter control of the minor haj pilgrimage.
He said 23,779 workers either have been or will be sent back to their hometowns. He pledged to do his best to help them looking for new jobs.
"(Helping the workers find new jobs) is the best that the ministry can do."
The airlift was financed by the state workers' insurance company PT Jamsostek.
Passport
Latief said most of the illegal Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia held fake passports.
Interviews with a number of workers revealed that there were 700 brokers involved in the counterfeiting scam.
"We have been able to obtain hundreds of names of brokers," he said.
The brokers ran their operations from Cianjur and Sukabumi, in West Java, Madura and Surabaya in East Java, Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, and Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.
"Most of them are in Cianjur and Madura," he said.
The brokers not only counterfeited passports and travel documents, but also forged local identity cards so even underaged girls could work in Saudi Arabia.
"I believe that they are organized, and have been so for up to 12 years, and their network stretches from the villages in Indonesia to Saudi Arabia," he said.
Latief revealed that he was aware of Indonesian brokers working in many cities in Saudi Arabia, selling fake passports to illegal workers for between 100 riyal (US$29) and 200 riyal.
He speculated that there were also some airlines involved in the transport of illegal workers, adding that he would have the matter investigate further.
The ministry would need up to one year to deal with the complicated problems of migrant workers. It will cooperate with other departments and the Agency for the Coordination of Support for the Development of National Stability to deal with the problems. (10)