Governors told to assist returnee workers

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The central government has called on governors to help facilitate the ongoing exodus of illegal Indonesian workers from Malaysia who are stranded in North Sumatra with no money to reach home.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said that the workers, especially those without the funds to get home, were facing a critical situation and needed emergency aid to avoid Malaysia's new immigration law on illegal foreign workers.

"Under these circumstances, the local administrations where the workers are stranded should provide accommodation and financial aid to enable them to get to their hometown," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday in response to North Sumatra's rejection of sending workers home.

North Sumatra Governor T. Rizal Nurdin has rejected funding the transportation of thousands of workers arriving at the Belawan and Teluk Nibung seaports to their villages in East Java and West Nusa Tenggara, because Indonesia and Malaysia had agreed that the workers would be sent directly to their home province. He said he would help the workers only if the central government provided financial assistance.

The workers, now housed in numerous dormitories in the provincial capital of Medan and its outskirts, are waiting for the provincial administration's help.

Only a small percentage of more than 100,000 workers returning from Malaysia cannot afford to go home, while a larger number, especially those returning through Riau, Kalimantan and South Sulawesi, financed their trips or boarded ships provided by the government and Malaysian authorities.

Thousands of workers were lined up in front of the immigration offices on Batam Island and Nunukan, East Kalimantan, to apply for a passport to re-enter Malaysia.

Nuwa Wea said that there was a bilateral agreement on the deportation but provinces should realize the workers were in a difficult and critical situation.

"They (workers) are Indonesian citizens deserving protection from the government since they sought work overseas because of a lack of job opportunities at home. They are real heroes, at least to their relatives," he said.

The minister said the central government would reimburse provinces that had helped fund the repatriation of workers.

"In fact, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and Riau have been cooperative in helping workers," he said.

The minister accepted a phone call while he discussed the workers' repatriation with the Nunukan regent at his office.

Nuwa Wea also warned governors of the possible smuggling of workers to Malaysia and trafficking of women to be employed for prostitution at home and overseas.

"We have told governors to coordinate with the authorities to prevent brokers and syndicates from trafficking workers for prostitution," he said.

Nuwa Wea said he appreciated Malaysia's decision to extend the amnesty period from July 31 to Aug. 30 for foreigners working illegally in that country.

"The decision was made at Indonesia's request since more than 90,000 Indonesians working illegally don't know about the law yet as they are employed in remote areas of Malaysia."

Almost half of the 800,000 Indonesians employed in Malaysia are believed to have entered the country without the necessary documents.

Until Wednesday night, thousands of Indonesians were heading for Malaysian ports to make their way back home.

The mass exodus of foreign workers follows Malaysia's decision to implement the new immigration law, which threatens caning, a jail sentence or a fine for illegal foreign workers and Malaysians employing them.

The government is set to include the labor issue in the bilateral talks between President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad slated for Aug. 7 in Bali, to persuade the country to accept workers trained in Indonesia and who had the necessary documents.

In other developments, Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Taiwan Cabinet's Council of Labor Affairs said it would put a freeze on hiring Indonesian workers effective from Thursday.

The suspension was partly due to a high level of runaways of Indonesian workers.

The labor council did not say how long the suspension would last or if a total ban would be eventually imposed.