KL delays massive deportation of RI illegals

KL delays massive deportation of RI illegals

Agencies
Jakarta

Malaysia has put on hold until January 2005 the massive
deportation of up to 700,000 Indonesians working illegally in the
neighboring country.

The move follows warnings from Jakarta earlier this month that
a crackdown on Indonesian illegals in Malaysia, before or during
the Sept. 20 presidential runoff, could affect the political
condition and hurt bilateral ties.

"This decision is not a compromise but suits us well,"
Malaysia's Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid was quoted as saying
by the New Straits Times on Thursday.

Indonesia has sought the delay because of the upcoming second
round of the presidential election and major religious events
such as the Ramadhan fasting month and Christmas.

Malaysia was working on a biometric system to record the entry
and exit of foreigners, which would be ready in five months, Azmi
said.

"Without the system, keeping illegal immigrants at bay would
be a futile effort," said Azmi.

He warned that "once we start the operation, (illegal
immigrants and their employers) will be liable for the harshest
punishment."

Under tough laws introduced two years ago, the migrants face
fines of up to 10,000 ringgit (US$2,630) per offense, a prison
sentence of up to five years, or both, with whipping.

AFP reported that 18,000 illegal immigrants have been whipped
in Malaysian prisons in the past two years and another 16,900 are
awaiting their turn.

There are an estimated 1.2 million illegal workers in the
country, who are mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines and
employed in construction, plantation work and services.

Meanwhile, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa
Wea welcomed the decision, for giving both governments the
opportunity to handle the labor issue more humanely and
peacefully.

"We will convey our gratitude to Kuala Lumpur over the delay,
as the satisfactory result of intensive lobbying to maintain the
two countries' bilateral ties."

"Despite the delay, we will continue lobbying the Malaysian
government to legalize the Indonesian illegals because it is
better and more efficient than the planned deportation. Besides,
the Malaysian authorities should also tighten the recruitment
procedure to avoid the presence of more illegals in the future,"
he said.

Nuwa Wea said that Indonesia would continue to campaign to
prevent people from working abroad illegally.
"The government, in cooperation with local mass media, will
continue to discourage workers from illegal employment overseas,
by stressing that it will only bring them suffering," he said.

Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Dato' Hamidon Ali said in
Jakarta on Thursday that one of the most perennial bilateral
issues was that of illegal workers.

"We have always tried to solve any issue together. Many of
those issues were discussed at the recent Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting, for example," he said.

Wahyu Susilo, coordinator of Migrant Care, a non-governmental
organization which seeks to improve the welfare of overseas
workers, called on Malaysia and the Indonesian government to pay
attention to the widespread maltreatment of migrant workers.