Malaysia extends amnesty deadline for migrant workers
Malaysia extends amnesty deadline for migrant workers
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Malaysian government has extended the amnesty period for
undocumented Indonesian migrant workers to return home from Nov.
14 to December, Indonesian Minister of Manpower and
Transmigration Fahmi Idris said.
Fahmi said an agreement on the extension was reached during
his meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
"I just met with Malaysian Prime Minister Ahmad Badawi and he
agreed ... to extend the amnesty period. However, he said he
needed to consult with his Cabinet first on the technicalities,"
Fahmi told Antara.
Kuala Lumpur earlier announced an amnesty program to allow
undocumented Indonesian migrants working in Malaysia to leave the
country without sanction between Oct. 29 and Nov. 14. The amnesty
was called to coincide with Idul Fitri, which falls on Nov. 15.
An estimated 400,000 Indonesian illegal migrant workers are
expected to take advantage of the amnesty scheme, and several
thousand returning workers have begun to arrive at designated
entry points across the archipelago.
Fahmi said he and the Malaysian prime minister also discussed
how to prevent Indonesians working illegally in Malaysia and
improving the placement of Indonesian workers in Malaysia by
employment agencies.
Malaysia has enacted tough punishments for illegal workers,
including jail sentences of up to five years, fines of up to
US$2,632 and caning for men below the age of 50.
Malaysians found employing illegal workers will also face jail
sentences, fines or caning.
Fahmi said Badawi agreed to amend a memorandum of
understanding on the placement of Indonesian workers in Malaysia
signed by the two governments earlier this year. A meeting to
discuss revisions to the memorandum is scheduled to be held
sometime after Idul Fitri.
During meetings he held with migrant workers leaving Malaysia
for Indonesia on Thursday, Fahmi received numerous complaints
from the migrants who said they would not be able to afford to
return to Malaysia.
One migrant told Fahmi he could not afford to pay the
departure tax of Rp 1 million that Indonesian citizens are
required to pay when leaving the country.
The chairman of the Indonesian Employee Agency Association,
Djamal Aziz, who accompanied Fahmi during the meetings, told the
migrants that his association was prepared to help them secure
the necessary documents to work legally in Malaysia.
The government has set up shelters for returning workers at
the seaports nearest the border with Malaysia.
About 22,000 of the returning workers are expected to be
absorbed into the government's resettlement program and sent to
less populated provinces in the country.
In Jakarta, State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia
Hatta said her office would closely monitor the arrival of women
migrant workers at Soekarno-Hatta airport, where extortion of
returning migrant workers is common.
Most Indonesian migrant workers are women.