Govt warns labor exporters

Govt warns labor exporters

JAKARTA (JP): The government warned manpower suppliers yesterday that they would lose their permits if they misused their documents to organize haj pilgrimages to Mecca.

Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher and Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief told journalists yesterday they would not hesitate to revoke the permits of recalcitrant companies.

"We're not playing games here," Latief said. "We're taking steps to deal with companies which are trying to dupe people into going on a pilgrimage on a workers' passport."

"We are taking action to protect our workers, as well as our haj pilgrims," he said.

Tarmizi said that "people who try to go to Mecca as workers but are actually making the haj pilgrimage are immoral, because they are depriving Moslems who want to go on the pilgrimage through official procedures of the opportunity."

The two ministers discussed, yesterday, steps to be taken to deal with the possible abuse of work permits by people who wish to go on the pilgrimage illegally.

That such violations could occur appears plausible, considering that Indonesia sends 80,000 workers to Saudi Arabia annually, or about 7,000 people per month.

Indonesia can only send 195,000 Moslems on the pilgrimage this year. About 36,000 prospective pilgrims are already on the waiting list, pending a decision by the Saudi government on whether to raise the quota for Indonesian pilgrims.

Tarmizi has, on a number of occasions, expressed concern that pilgrims on the waiting list might be tempted to seek unofficial ways to make the trip to Mecca.

The chances of those on the waiting list, or even that of those who fall within the quota, could be reduced if the flow of people going to Mecca as workers goes unchecked, Tarmizi said.

In addition, many Indonesian Moslems who went to Mecca earlier this year on the minor pilgrimage (umrah) have intentionally overstayed in order to join the haj pilgrimage, he said.

Tarmizi said the actions of these people might cause official pilgrims who arrive late to be turned back.

The Saudi government had said that it would stop the inflow of Indonesians once the quota of 195,000 had been reached, Tarmizi said.

Both ministers said they had caught people going on the pilgrimage masquerading as workers.

"Imagine, we found married couples aged over fifty who claimed they were going to Mecca to work," Latief said. "What kind of work would these old people be doing?"

If caught, infringing labor suppliers would be charged with falsifying state documents, Latief said.

There are currently 150 licensed labor supply companies in Indonesia. The two ministers, however, are more worried about illegal labor suppliers and promised yesterday that they would intensify checks.

According to Latief, the two ministries have agreed with other offices, including immigration, to establish surveillance teams to scrutinize people going to Saudi Arabia.

"We will check passenger lists and coordinate with the airline companies and, along with the immigration office, monitor everything in the field," Latief said.

Tarmizi said the government had been doing its utmost to ensure that more people could go on the pilgrimage safely. His own office had been working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an attempt to persuade Saudi Arabia to raise the quota for Indonesia, he said.

Tarmizi has also cooperated with Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad in the matter of a state-owned bank which allegedly altered haj payment data in order to get its customers out of the pilgrimage waiting list and onto the list of those definitely bound for Mecca for the Moslem ritual. (swe)