Immigration deported 450 aliens in last year

Immigration deported 450 aliens in last year

JAKARTA (JP): The immigration authorities deported 450
foreigners from Indonesia last year, largely because they had
overstayed their permits.

In 1993, Indonesia deported 488 foreigners.

Director General of Immigration Roni Sikap Sinuraya
announced that Malaysians topped the list of people deported in
1994 with 73, Australians came second with 66 and Taiwan third
with 62.

Roni said the authorities are currently holding 14 Sri
Lankans who were recently caught in violation of their visas.
They are to be deported soon.

During their investigation of the Sri Lankans, the
immigration office discovered that an official from the Ministry
of Education and Culture had been providing them with forged
documents stating that they were students of the University of
Indonesia.

Most of the people deported were caught during the recent
sweep against illegal aliens conducted by the Directorate General
of Immigration over the New Year holiday on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

Roni said the operation code named Waspada (Alert) rounded
up 160 people, including 59 Malaysians, 24 Japanese and 23
Singaporeans.

Among those detained and deported were entertainers hired by
Indonesian clubs for the New Year celebrations. Many of them were
in the country without working permits.

Despite the deportation of people from the neighboring
country, it was hardly tit for tat between Indonesia and
Malaysia.

Roni said a total of 13,045 Indonesians were deported from
the neighboring country in 1994 because they were in violation of
the Malaysian immigration regulations.

One deportation case that drew huge publicity last year was
that of Malaysian-born TV star Nand Kumar, who was a hit in the
local television serial Si Doel Anak Sekolahan (Doel, the School
Boy).

His popularity eventually drew the attention of the
immigration authorities. In November he was given the marching
order because it turned out that his visa only allowed him to
work as a disc jockey.

Roni said the authorities could not accept Nand's plead of
ignorance of Indonesian immigration regulations.

All foreigners should know the Indonesian immigration
regulations before coming into the country, he said.

Pleads of ignorance have been widely used as a pretext by
many people caught in violation of the immigration laws, he
noted.

"I find it hard to believe that a foreigner has difficulties
in comprehending the regulations because they are written in
English and not Indonesian," he added. (imn)