Illegal workers kidnapped on way home

Illegal workers kidnapped on way home

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The blackmailing and kidnapping of illegal Indonesian workers returning from Malaysia is widespread, the Consortium of Indonesian Migrant Workers Advocacy (Kopbumi) revealed on Thursday.

Kopbumi executive secretary Wahyu Susilo said such crimes had been found in Jambi and several towns in West Nusa Tenggara.

The crime is also believed to be going on in Medan, North Sumatra, in Batam, Riau, in Surakarta, Central Java, in Surabaya and in Banyuwangi, East Java, he said.

"So far, we have come across 20 such crimes in Jambi, but we are sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm afraid the number of actual cases has reached thousands," he told The Jakarta Post.

He said the lack of security in connecting cities was a major factor behind widespread crime inflicted on illegal workers.

"Such crime does not happen in Nunukan, East Kalimantan because the local police and government are ready to assist the returning illegal workers," he said.

About 480,000 illegal workers are returning home after the Malaysian government implemented strict new immigration legislation on Aug. 1, which threatens illegal immigrants with caning, fines, and jail sentences.

According to one estimate, half of the returnees worked in West Malaysia and so will pass through Sumatra, while the other half worked in East Malaysia and, therefore, will pass through East Kalimantan.

At least 1,000 returnees pass through Jambi every day, while in Medan, more than 10,000 illegal workers have traveled by.

"With such large numbers of workers passing by on their way home, blackmailing and kidnapping workers has become a very lucrative enterprise for criminals," Wahyu said.

He gave an example of a returning worker from West Nusa Tenggara, who was forced to pay between Rp 2 million (US$222) and Rp 3 million ($333) to free himself from a house full of hostages in Jambi.

A returning illegal worker, Indro, from Tulungagung in East Java, even said that the family of his friend had to pay at least Rp 6 million to release his friend, who had been taken hostage in Tanjung Pinang, Riau.

According to him, if families of workers refuse to pay, the bandits would continue to detain the workers and treat them like slaves.

Wahyu added the syndicates involved local people, transportation businessmen, illegal suppliers and even government officials and police officers.

He expected the police to intensify security at transit points to stop such crimes.

He also hoped local people, who knew about such practices, would report the criminals to the local police or Kopbumi's local representative offices.

Meanwhile, hundreds of illegal workers fleeing Malaysia's strict new immigration law have arrived in Kendari, the capital of the Southeast Sulawesi province, in a miserable condition.

Some female workers were in a late stage of pregnancy, while others had bruises after suffering the caning penalty dealt out by Malaysian officials, a harsh form of punishment under the new immigration law, which went into effect on Aug. 1.

After they left Sabah, Malaysia, the workers became stranded in Nunukan, East Kalimantan for several days. Most of the workers were penniless and had to spend the night out in the open. They were forced to rely on other workers' kindness for food.

The government had promised to finance the workers' trip home to their village in Southeast Sulawesi, but that did not happen, leaving most to sell their belongings for the trip.

These workers reached Kendari aboard a passenger ship belonging to state-owned shipping operator Pelni.

The local Transmigration and Manpower Agency estimated that about 2,000 residents of Southeast Sulawesi were working illegally in Malaysia.

Antara reported Thursday that at least 10,000 illegal workers stranded in Nunukan had returned mainly to Surabaya in East Java, Pare-pare in Central Sulawesi and Maumere in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

Nunukan vice regent Kasmir Foret said about 20,000 workers were applying for legal working documents, but the number might increase.

In Maumere, hundreds of returnees arrived at Maumere port on Wednesday on a state-owned Pelni ship.

NTT Manpower and Transmigration Agency head Joseph Setyohadi said that more than 1,300 illegal workers from the province had returned home before Wednesday.