Illegals to get free documents

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

More Indonesian illegal workers are expected to leave Malaysia before the amnesty offer expires on Dec. 31, as they are no longer required to pay for immigration documents.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Alawuddin said the government had made the move in a bid to convince the Malaysian government of its seriousness in solving the problem that has long plagued ties between the two countries.

"From today until Dec. 31, workers will not be charged for the documents if they leave Malaysia before the deadline," Hamid said after a ceremony at the Immigration Academy on Monday.

Previously, Indonesian illegal workers had to pay some RM 40 (US$13.30) for the documents.

Malaysia has extended the amnesty period to Dec. 31 from the original deadline set for Dec. 14.

Hamid called on other illegals to apply for the documents at the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia.

Immigration Office head Iman Santoso said that only some 200,000 of 600,000 illegal workers had sought the documents in Malaysia since the amnesty was offered.

More than 100,000 of the workers had planned to return to the neighboring country legally.

Iman said personnel at Indonesian representative offices in Malaysia were prepared to process the documents as the amnesty period draws near.

"We hope no more brokers benefit from the illegal workers because we have announced that the process is free-of-charge," Iman said.

Middlemen are both Indonesian and Malaysian nationals, he said.

The Indonesian government has offered the migrant workers jobs at nine palm oil plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan, which would provide incomes for the breadwinners of around 22,500 families.

The government would spent a total of Rp 1.6 trillion on the resettlement program, including to construct housing and prepare arable land for palm oil estates.

The official unemployment rate in the country has reached 10 million.

Thousands of migrant workers deported from Malaysia over the last two years have been resettled at small palm oil plantations in Natuna, Riau; Sanggau, West Kalimantan, and Nunukan, East Kalimantan.