Jambi to deport two foreigners

JAMBI, Jambi: The immigration office here is to deport today a Malaysian and a Singaporean who misused their tourist visas to proselytize Taoism in the province.

Antara reported yesterday that the two foreigners were identified as Yap Eng Jo, 33, a Malaysian, and Toh Ben Bon, 28, a Singaporean.

"They were spreading an illegal religion unregistered in Indonesia," a local immigration official, Zailani, was quoted as saying.

The registered religions in Indonesia are Islam, Protestantism, Buddhism, Catholicism and Hinduism. Taoism is a religion followed mostly by Chinese.

"Jambi is a strategic location for illegal immigrants, therefore, we have to tighten controls over foreigners who come to the province," Zailani said.

In the last five months, the local immigration office has deported 37 foreigners from Thailand, Pakistan, Vietnam, Korea, China, Malaysia, and Singapore, he said.

The immigration service is also stepping up its supervision of foreigners seeking Indonesian citizenship, to prevent the possibility of them falsifying their identities to remain in the province.