Funds sought to bring workers home

Funds sought to bring workers home

Ridwan Max Sijabat,Jakarta

While it seeks the funds to repatriate an estimated 600,000
illegal workers from Malaysia, the government has asked Kuala
Lumpur to delay the deportation of the Indonesians until after
the presidential election runoff in September.

The government has calculated that it will cost about Rp 140
billion (US$15.5 million) to bring the workers home, but has not
said where the money will come from.

Interim coordinating minister for people's welfare Malik
Fadjar said after a meeting with the ministers under his
coordination here on Wednesday it was likely that emergency funds
from the state budget would be used to repatriate the workers.

Following the same meeting, manpower minister Jacob Nuwa Wea
called on Malaysia to help pay to send the workers back to
Indonesia, as it had done on several occasions over the past
three years.

Malik said Indonesia and Malaysia had agreed to share the cost
of the deportations, with Indonesia providing the transportation
and Malaysia giving the workers money to cover their traveling
expenses.

"Indonesia will spend Rp 302,000 per worker to cover their sea
transportation from Malaysia to their home villages, while,
according to the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, the
Malaysian government will give each of the workers between 120
ringgit and 140 ringgit to cover their expenses on the trip back
to Indonesia."

The estimated cost of repatriating the workers is thought to
be far less than the amount of money they send back to Indonesia
and their contributions to Malaysia's economy and physical
development.

Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia are thought to have
sent back US$41 million to Indonesia in 2003.

Malaysia has rounded up about 1.2 million illegal workers,
half from Indonesia, who were employed on development projects,
on plantations and in other sectors. The planned deportation was
sparked by the increasing crime rate in Malaysia.

Indonesia has told Malaysia the deportation of its nationals
should be conducted in close coordination between the countries
in order to avoid any rights violations or damage to bilateral
ties.

Foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda said deporting illegal
Indonesian workers during the election period could harm
relations between the two countries.

Indonesia will hold a presidential election runoff on Sept. 20
between incumbent Megawati Soekarnoputri and Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono.

"We have told the Malaysians to understand our situation. We
are holding elections and this issue is very sensitive, not only
domestically but also as far as bilateral relations are
concerned," he said.

Wirayuda said Malaysia had agreed not to deport the workers
before the election.

"Now we have two months to prepare ourselves," he said.

More than 70 people died of starvation and disease when
Malaysian authorities expelled more than 400,000 Indonesian
illegal migrants between May and September 2002.

Manpower minister Nuwa Wea said the ports of Belawan in North
Sumatra, Kuala Tungkal in Jambi, Tanjung Pinang in Riau, Pare-
Pare in South Sulawesi, Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, Tanjung Perak
in East Java and Entikong in West Kalimantan would serve as the
entry points for workers returning to Indonesia.

"The Indonesian Military will ready six warships to transport
the illegal workers to the ports nearest to their hometowns," he
said.

He predicted the deportation of the workers would add to the
country's unemployment woes.