Local govts told to help illegal TKIs

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno urged local administrations on Wednesday to help illegal workers (TKIs) expelled from Malaysia return to their home provinces.

"We call on regional administrations to accept and help illegal migrant workers and coordinate their repatriation with the local manpower office," Hari was quoted by Antara as saying in Tampaksiring, 40 kilometers southeast of Denpasar, Bali on Wednesday.

Due to their geographic proximity, East Kalimantan and North Sumatra provinces have received most of the 300,000 illegal Indonesian workers fleeing Malaysia due to new immigration laws which threaten jail, caning and fines.

The North Sumatra provincial administration said earlier that it would turn away ships ferrying illegal workers from Malaysia unless the central government bore the cost.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla said Tuesday that the government had earmarked Rp 30 billion to help settle the returning workers.

Meanwhile, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea appealed to Malaysian authorities not to expel Indonesian workers arbitrarily.

"Don't push (expell) illegal TKIs just like that because we need each other," Jacob said in Tampaksiring, Bali on Wednesday.

He expressed hope that the illegal migrant workers issue would be settled in the next three months.

During that period, he said, Indonesia would discuss with Malaysia how many workers it needed, sectors that require their service, salary, duration of contract of work, and protection of TKIs.

"We will prepare all of these," Antara quoted Jacob as saying.