KL accused of 'fishing' for cheap illegal workers

KL accused of 'fishing' for cheap illegal workers

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Labor exporters have accused Malaysian employers of fishing for
cheap illegal workers from Indonesia, with Malaysian government
authorities only issuing recruitment permits for a very limited
number of foreign workers.

The Malaysian government has so far only issued permits for
the recruitment of 57,000 foreign workers, or only two percent of
the market demand there.

Secretary-General of the Indonesian Development Employment
Agency (IDEA) Djamal Azis said on Wednesday that labor exporters
here have been disappointed at the way Malaysian authorities have
treated Indonesian workers.

"Malaysian employers are in dire need of Indonesian workers
with the ongoing raids taking place to deport illegal immigrants.
But they have been reluctant to request foreign workers from
their own government because they want to encourage (Indonesian)
job seekers to use tourist visas to work in Malaysia," he told
The Jakarta Post by telephone.

He said that many construction projects in Malaysia have been
suspended and many plantations have been left uninhabited
following the crackdown early this month against illegal workers.
More than 350,000 Indonesian workers have returned home following
the raids and remain jobless due to the absence of official job
orders from the Malaysian government.

Djamal said IDEA backed the Indonesian government's position,
which has urged workers not to use tourist visas to work in
Malaysia because this would make them illegal immigrants.

The government has warned labor exporters against sending
illegal workers, warning that it would impose harsh punishments.

Law No. 39/2004 on protection of Indonesian workers overseas
imposes a maximum five jail sentence and/or a Rp 350 million
(US$37,000) fine against any person or entity found guilty of
sending undocumented workers overseas.

The government supports sending properly documented, skilled
workers overseas, which will help to minimize labor abuse and
bureaucratic extortion. Legal workers are paid between 40
ringgit and 60 ringgit (US$16) per day, while illegal workers are
only paid between seven ringgit and ten ringgit per day.

Djamal downplayed the recent threat from Malaysia to recruit
more workers from Pakistan amid the ongoing maritime border
dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia.

He said most Malaysian employers preferred to employ
Indonesian workers because besides being relatively cheap, they
also understood Malaysian culture, could speak Malay and had a
good attitude to work.

Meanwhile, director-general for labor export at the Manpower
and Transmigration Ministry I Gusti Made Arka said the government
would continue to diversify Indonesia's labor market overseas in
an effort to help resolve unemployment at home.

"Besides seeking bilateral agreements with foreign countries
that employ Indonesian workers, the government has intensified
its lobbying of developed countries to seek job opportunities in
their labor-intensive sectors," he said.