Malaysia detains 6,000 RI illegal migrant workers

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Malaysian authorities have detained more than 6,000 Indonesian job seekers who migrated to the neighbor country illegally this month, Indonesian diplomats revealed on the weekend.

Supeno Sahid, Consul General at the Indonesian Embassy here, said over the weekend that the people had entered Malaysia without the required documents, including passports and labor contracts, and were being detained in detention camps in Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Pahang, Kelantan and Johor.

"These job seekers, mostly from East Java and Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, are still serving their jail sentences before being deported to Indonesia in accordance with this country's immigration law," he said, citing that most people were captured and sent to the detention camps upon arrival in the country.

They entered Malaysia through Batam, Tanjung Pinang and Dumai in Riau province with the help of illegal labor brokers, and were originally destined for plantations in the Malaysian peninsula.

Supeno suggested that thousands of other Indonesian workers had entered the country illegally, without being detected by Malaysian authorities, and were now working in plantations and construction projects under poor conditions with little payment.

He said that it was difficult to prevent Indonesian laborers from migrating to the country, whose economy had recovered from the economic crisis.

"Indonesian job seekers will continue to migrate to Malaysia because of the high unemployment rate in Indonesia and the higher monthly wages in Malaysia," Supeno said.

According to Supeno, the minimum monthly wage in the country is set at 800 Malaysian ringgit, equivalent to Rp 1,840,000 or US$216.

The Malaysian government has tightened its policy on the recruitment of foreign workers due to the presence of millions of illegal workers and increasing crime, including murder, rape and narcotics trade.

Its labor law threatens a fine of between 5,000 ringgit and 10,000 ringgit, or a maximum five-year jail sentence, against Malaysian employers who employ illegal foreign migrant workers.

"So far, no Malaysian employers have been convicted for employing illegal expatriates. The Malaysian authorities look extra alert in enforcing the law to maintain better bilateral ties with Indonesia," said Supeno.

He noted that the registered number of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia was around 600,000 but the real figure was predicted to have reached more than two million.

Masri Hasyar, the embassy's labor attache, called on the Indonesian government to be more serious in handling the illegal worker issue, because it could damage the two countries' bilateral ties.

He said Malaysia opened its gates to Indonesian workers, but they were required to enter the country with official documents for monitoring purposes.

He cited that in 2000 alone, Malaysia recorded various criminal cases involving 650 Indonesian workers.

Of those cases, 92 Indonesians were apprehended for working as prostitutes in restaurants and hotels, 160 were killed, 35 were involved in murder cases, 37 were involved in the narcotics trade, 15 were jailed for illegal weapons possession and 250 were arrested for not possessing official documents.

According to data at the embassy, the Malaysian authorities deported around 69,000 illegal workers to Indonesia between Jan. 2000 and Feb. 2001. (rms)