Government Prepares 500,000 Migrant Workers, Malaysia Remains the Largest Destination

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — The government is preparing 500,000 Indonesian migrant workers for 2026, with Malaysia remaining the largest destination for labour placement. The target was conveyed by the Minister of Protection for Indonesian Migrant Workers (P2MI), Mukhtarudin, when receiving a delegation from the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) at the P2MI Ministry Office in South Jakarta on Tuesday (21/4/2026). “For 2026, President Prabowo has directed us to prepare 500,000 quality workers. Malaysia remains the largest placement country,” said Minister Mukhtarudin. “From January to April 2026, there have already been 22,915 placement services to Malaysia,” he added. The MCA delegation was led by Datuk Ir. Lawrence Low, along with officials and business actors from various sectors in Malaysia. Discussions also addressed changes in the composition of the workforce. Hitherto, the plantation sector has dominated the placement of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. Going forward, the focus will be on medium- to high-skilled workers, such as in the health sector, nurses and caregivers, strategic industries, welders, and the hospitality sector. This meeting also explored four strategic collaboration areas, including strengthening vocational education through MCA-affiliated universities. The cooperation includes an industry link-and-match system, where MCA will help identify labour market skill needs in Malaysia to make worker training more targeted. In addition, both parties are promoting recruitment schemes through official Private to Private (P to P) channels and developing Government to Private (G to P) for companies in the MCA network. To strengthen protection, a joint task force will be formed to handle disputes between workers and employers quickly and fairly. This cooperation also touches on empowering former migrant workers, including support for marketing MSME products through the MCA economic network. “Malaysia is a good friend and our neighbouring country. With MCA’s support as part of the Malaysian government coalition, we are optimistic that migrant worker protection will be further strengthened,” said Mukhtarudin. “Especially in ensuring the fulfilment of basic rights such as wages, insurance, and decent housing,” he added.