Illegal workers in Saudi Arabia
Illegal workers in Saudi Arabia
From Jayakarta
Several days ago the minister of manpower said that 400,000
Indonesians who entered Saudi Arabia on an umroh (minor haj)
passport and are now illegally employed in that country. This
information has been spread by the media. Similar news also made
headlines on March 22, 1995 when the manpower minister claimed
that 400 Indonesian workers had departed for Saudi Arabia
illegally through the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
The figure quoted by the minister aroused interest; it is,
therefore, worth remarking on it. I heard from acquaintances with
connections at the Saudi Arabian Embassy, and also from relations
within the Ampuh Association, that the embassy issues in general
about 50,000 umroh visas per year.
This number makes sense since a yearly haj quota has been
fixed at 190,000 people.
Those who depart on umroh visas belong to the upper, middle
and lower classes. Supposing 50,000 chose not to return to
Indonesia, this would imply that every year some 10,000 people
with umroh visas stay in Saudi Arabia.
To return to the minister's claim of 400,000 illegal
Indonesians immigrants being in Saudi Arabia, it would take 40
years to reach that number. Has the matter not been exaggerated?
We would not want to embarrass the Saudi Arabian government with
an imprecise estimation, like that manpower ministry memo
recently published by the media which informed that PT Astek
released funds in the billions of rupiah for a film production
titled Moon over Medina.
The Saudi Arabian government reacted unfavorably to the
announcement since the producers had not applied for a permit to
make the film.
About age requirements for the special umroh passports, if I
am not mistaken an agreement between former manpower minister
Sudomo and the ambassador of Saudi Arabia states that the minimum
age was to be 30 years. However, the minister said then that at
30 years, one's productivity is beginning to slow down. Therefore
it was then decided to regard 21 and 23 year olds as 30 year
olds. That was what they agreed upon at the time.
I am also of the opinion that people from Padang or Aceh and
who live in Jakarta should be allowed to make a passport in
Jakarta as long as they do not trespass prevailing procedures.
YUNUS MOH UAMANI
North Jakarta