More than 48,000 TKIs arrested in Malaysia

JAKARTA: Malaysian authorities have arrested more than 48,000 Indonesian illegal migrant workers (TKIs), who are now awaiting deportation to Indonesia, Antara news agency reported on Friday.

"The illegal migrant workers have been detained for months," House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung said here on Friday.

The illegal workers are scheduled to be repatriated through Belawan Port in Medan, North Sumatra, which is near the Malaysian state of Johor.

"That will be another problem for the Indonesian government as the TKIs came from various cities across the country," said Akbar.

The House is deliberating a draft law on the protection of Indonesian workers overseas. --Antara