'Indonesia needs to make approach to Malaysia'

'Indonesia needs to make approach to Malaysia'

Agencies, Jakarta/Medan

Indonesia needs to make neighborly approaches to Malaysia
after labor riots there prompted a temporary ban on hiring new
Indonesian workers, Vice President Hamzah Haz said Friday.

"We need to approach Malaysia because it is our neighbor and
work opportunities are great there," Hamzah was quoted by the
official Antara news agency as saying.

Hamzah said he had no plan to visit Malaysia. "But maybe a
visit would be made because we think that the affairs of
Indonesian workers are also our problem."

The vice president said Indonesian labor exporters should
provide workers with necessary training before sending them
abroad.

Some 400 Indonesians staged a protest at a textile factory in
western state of Negeri Sembilan on Jan. 17 after police tried to
detain 16 of their co-workers for drug abuse.

The police arrested 147 people after the riot, in which police
vehicles were overturned and officers stoned.

Three days later about 70 Indonesian construction workers
armed with machetes went on the rampage and damaged food stalls
run by fellow Indonesians at Cyberjaya south of Kuala Lumpur.

Ninety one Indonesians have been deported and more are due to
be sent home.

That incident came a month after more than 1,600 illegal
Indonesian immigrants at a detention camp in southern Johor state
rioted and burned down some of their quarters.

Indonesian ministers have expressed deep concerns over the
riots and two officials have been sent to Malaysia to try to help
resolve the problem.

On Wednesday Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi said the government decided to ban the workers after the
riots.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad Thursday defended
the temporary ban on hiring new Indonesian workers and said the
decision would not sour relations.

"We enjoy good relations with the Indonesian government. It is
them (rioters) who sour the relations," Mahathir said.

Malaysia has more than a million foreign workers, mostly from
poorer neighbors including Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Manpower Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea said
that relations with Malaysia would not be hurt by the latter's
decision to ban new workers from the former, but he hoped that
the ban would soon be lifted.

"That (decision) is just temporary and will not hurt both
country's relations," Jacob told reporters in Medan.

Work for Indonesians abroad is an important source of foreign
exchange for the country and also helps alleviate widespread
unemployment at home.

Malaysia is home to some 750,000 foreign workers, mainly from
Indonesia.