Indonesia, Malaysia to revise MoU on migrant workers

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.