More RI workers complain of abuse

More RI workers complain of abuse

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post/Surabaya

Fajar (not his real name) lies listlessly inside an ambulance,
his face showing signs of excruciating pain. Both his legs are
limp.

The 25-year-old man is one of 189 illegal migrant workers from
Malaysia who reported to the East Java Manpower and
Transmigration Office last Sunday.

Fajar appeared subdued after being repatriated and was
reluctant to talk to anyone, including manpower officials.

"Fajar said he couldn't walk as a result of being beaten by
Malaysian police," Djaelani, head of the office, told The Jakarta
Post.

He refused medical treatment when he arrived in Surabaya, and
asked to be taken home to Kebonsari village in Kademangan
district, Blitar regency.

Fajar was not alone. Suparno (also not his real name), another
migrant worker hailing from Banyuwangi regency, also arrived in
Surabaya with injuries to both ears, and as a result has hearing
problems.

The 30-year-old man was taken to Siti Khodijah Hospital in
Sepanjang, Sidoarjo regency, to be examined the moment he arrived
at the East Java Manpower Office.

The plight of illegal migrant workers seems never ending.
Malaysia will forcefully repatriate another 700,000 Indonesian
migrant workers by January next year, 200,000 of them from East
Java.

Manpower office records show that 385,000 illegal migrant
workers will be repatriated from West Malaysia and 315,000 from
East Malaysia.

The migrant workers will be transported to Pasir Gudang Port
in Johor, Malaysia, sent by ship Tanjung Pinang in Riau, then to
Tanjung Priok in Jakarta or directly to Surabaya. Thereafter,
they will be bused to their respective hometowns.

Some migrant workers have claimed that they were physically
abused while detained in Malaysia, with a few women saying they
were molested.

Djaelani said the manpower office was unable to offer them any
legal representation.

"They aren't really migrant workers but people who are a
burden to another country. So the social office should handle the
problem," he said.

Most of them traveled to Malaysia on a regular passport and
had no work permit. Legal migrant workers are issued special
passports.

Djaelani said there were official procedures for sending
workers abroad, which is through a migrant worker supplier
(PJTKI). "For anyone wishing to work abroad, they can apply at
one of the 55 branches of PJTKI throughout East Java. Other than
that, it is illegal," he said.

Repatriation of 200,000 illegal migrant workers from East Java

1. Sent home by their employers: 80,000

2. Returned home voluntarily: 40,000

3. Deported: 80,000

Places of origin

1. Sampang: 1,069

2. Pamekasan: 871

3. Jember: 622

4. Bangkalan: 533

5. Sumenep: 531

6. Tulungagung: 416

7. Lumajang: 398

8. Banyuwangi: 309

9. Blitar: 300

10. Kediri: 258