It boils down to law enforcement

It boils down to law enforcement

Yenny Wahid, The Star, Asia News Network, Selangor, Malaysia

Yanto wants to go home to Indonesia but his salary for the
past four months has not been paid. He chooses to stay on in
Damansara rather than return empty-handed.

When asked if he is aware of the risk of staying on in
Malaysia as orang kosong -- the term for illegal workers from
Indonesia, Yanto nods. To him, incarceration or whipping is a
risk worth taking when hunger is the alternative.

Yanto is one of the hundreds of thousands of Indonesian
illegal workers who decided to stay on. Going back with an empty
pocket is not a choice as strangling debts await them.

Before leaving for Malaysia, Yanto had to borrow from a
moneylender with the promise that all will be settled when he
returns from his trip abroad.

Alas, the salary remained unpaid while the interest on the
debts continued to grow.

Remaining in Malaysia had become a necessity even if he had to
live without food.

Cramped and suffocating quarters shared with hundreds of
fellow workers, and shortage of food and clean water are not
enough to frighten Yanto from staying on to get what is owed to
him.

Asked further if he was aware of his awkward position, having
entered Malaysia illegally, Yanto said yes, but added: "The
project leader was aware that we were illegals but he employed us
anyhow. Why is it now that he suddenly refused to pay our
salary?"

The problem of Indonesian illegal workers has been a thorn in
the bilateral ties between Indonesia and Malaysia for more than a
decade.

Numerous efforts had been tried to solve the problem -- from
the exchange of notes to the signing of MoU between the two
nations, the latest during the official visit by Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Feb. 14.

The Malaysian Government, on the request of Indonesia, agreed
to postpone for the third time the repatriation of illegal
workers to March 1.

The problems pertaining to the illegal workers attract
controversies. Populist pronouncements by leading figures and a
seemingly biased media had sparked the nationalistic sentiments
in both countries.

In Indonesia, the problem is viewed from a humanitarian
perspective. The perceived heavy punishment meted out to
Indonesian illegal workers who were caught is viewed to be too
harsh. Whipping, heavy fines, detention camps said to be unfit
for human habitation which caused the workers to fall sick and
even die, have given reasons for the Indonesian public to
sympathize with their countrymen working in Malaysia. The
situation has been worsened following reports of employers not
paying the salaries of these workers for months.

On the Malaysian side, fighting and criminal activities
including robberies and even murders involving Indonesian workers
had made them a threat to security. The workers are also accused
of taking advantage of the social facilities meant for
Malaysians.

Despite the negative perceptions, there is an understanding
between the leaders of the two nations that the Indonesian
workers would remain an integral part of the Malaysian economy.
The colossal unemployment rate in Indonesia and the ready demand
for Indonesian workers in Malaysia have made the issue a fait
accompli.

Numerous efforts have been undertaken to find a humane
solution based on the spirit of goodwill. The "one stop center"
system, involving six institutions from both Indonesia and
Malaysia to provide the Indonesian workers the necessary
documents, is a breakthrough. Under this system, the center will
manage all the necessary documents for workers planning to go to
Malaysia. Such efforts by the leaders of the two countries should
be commended and supported even though other solutions which are
more practical, economical and realistic should continue to be
pursued.

One short-term solution which could be undertaken is the
process of legalizing Indonesian workers who are already in
Malaysia, through the Indonesia embassy in Malaysia. This process
will benefit most quarters as it is cheaper, simple and
efficient.

For Malaysian industries, they will suffer huge losses from
the time of the repatriation of the Indonesian workers to the
time of their return (with proper documents). Some employers
decided to hold back part of the wages of their Indonesian
workers to ensure they returned to Malaysia. For the Malaysian
Government, this scheme is far more cost-effective as they do not
need to foot the cost of repatriation. For the Indonesia
authorities, the solution is ideal as they will not have to
suddenly face hundreds of thousands of jobless people.

There is, of course, a weakness to the scheme as it can turn
into an incentive for Indonesian workers to enter Malaysia
illegally with the hope to gain employment and at the same time
apply for the working permit at the embassy.

Another possible solution is by according the amnesty not only
to the illegal workers but also the employers. Such amnesty would
stop the employers and industries from being defensive and ensure
that they are not reluctant in settling the arrears of the wages
of the workers.

These solutions, if unaccompanied by enforcement, will
continue to produce unauthorized agents, recruiters and
transporters who will exploit the loopholes in the laws of the
two nations.

Yanto never planned to enter Malaysia illegally but his
documents had gone missing, taken by the recruiter who brought
him. This is where the firmness of leaders from both nations in
dealing with those supplying or receiving the workers is vital.

The writer is the daughter of former Indonesian president
Abdurrahman Wahid and also the Director of the Wahid Institute in
Jakarta.