Indonesia, Malaysia to revise MoU on migrant workers

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi arrived here for a three-day visit, during which he will talk with Indonesian government officials on labor issues.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said, after the plenary meeting with Abdullah at the vice presidential office, that new arrangements for Indonesian workers in Malaysia would be discussed in July to improve the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the two governments earlier this year.

According to Jacob, Indonesia would ask the Malaysian government to review the process of sending illegal migrants home and to extend the contracts for legal Indonesian workers there.

Indonesia would also discuss the possibility of amnesties and other legal protection for convicted Indonesian workers, as well as new deportation arrangements.

"Our deported workers are mostly returned to Kalimantan and Riau, while most of them have originated from Java. We will try and assess the possibility of transporting deported workers to Surabaya, for those who live in eastern Indonesia, and to Jakarta for western Indonesia," Jacob said.

Migrant workers have been a thorny issue between the two countries, as illegal Indonesian workers have caused trouble in Malaysia.

In his response, Abdullah said the two countries would try to seek the best solution, and agreed to repatriate the illegal migrants to the destination closer to their origin.

"We will try and find a solution in the repatriation process and not drop them at a location that would enable them to return to Malaysia and create further problems," Abdullah said.

There are currently 568,000 legal Indonesian workers in Malaysia, 360,000 of whom are employed as domestic helpers and plantation workers.

Earlier Abdullah held bilateral talks with Vice President Hamzah Haz on wide-ranging issues, including the economy, politics, law and regional security.

In a joint media statement, Hamzah said the two countries also discussed the exclusive economic zone, and cooperation in investment, tourism, science and technology.

"The government will provide facilities to ensure that economic activity can take place," Hamzah said.

Abdullah's entourage included about 100 Malaysian businesspeople.

Hamzah also thanked the Malaysian government for its support to Indonesia in maintaining national integrity as well as creating political stability.

Malaysia and Indonesia would continue to cooperate in combating transnational crimes by exchanging information, as set out in a trilateral agreement with the Philippines.