Minister to go ahead with much-criticized project

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite public protests, the government will go ahead with plans to move the special compound for returning migrant workers from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to Ciracas, East Jakarta, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said.

He said over the weekend that the plan would be executed within months, but promised that it would not create new problems for arriving and departing workers.

"The guarantee is my job. I will step down if the extortion (of migrant workers) continues or if the closure creates new problems for workers," said Nuwa Wea.

Returning migrant workers have been extorted by government officials, hoodlums and bus drivers since the government opened the special compound in Terminal III in the 1990s.

Almost 800 returning migrant workers pass through the terminal every day. Besides illegal levies, the workers are charged Rp 25,000 (US$3) for baggage porters, Rp 50,000 for medical checkups and between Rp 250,000 and Rp 350,000 in bus fare for the trip to their home villages.

Labor exporters and non-governmental organizations have objected to the plan, saying it will only move the extortion from the airport to Ciracas, where there will be even less public scrutiny.

Husen Alaydrus, chairman of the Association of Labor Export Companies, said: "The Ciracas compound was used as a special lounge for workers in the past, but then it was moved to Terminal III because of rampant extortion. Now the government is going to move it back to Ciracas, which will not solve the problems and could even cause new ones."

He called on the government to allow workers to pass through Terminal II, the official gate for all passengers arriving in Indonesia, and to deploy government officials to ensure the workers' safe exit from the airport.

Minister Nuwa Wea promised the government had developed a system with special teams and buses to handle workers going to and from Ciracas.

"Upon their arrival at the airport, workers will be transported directly to Ciracas under the supervision of security personnel. From Ciracas, they will ride in special buses equipped with sophisticated security systems and radio communications to ensure a safe trip to their home villages," he said.

The minister also denied allegations that his children -- Willem Nuwa Wea and Andy Nuwa Wea -- were involved in the Rp 24 billion project to renovate the Ciracas site.

"I will resign if any evidence is found that my family was involved in the project," he said.

Officials at the manpower and transmigration ministry have declined to identify the owner of PT Fernadi Wira Perkasa, which carried out the renovation work.

Journalists have been denied access to the large compound, which contains several dormitories, since the allegations surfaced.