Navy to repatriate RI's illegal migrant workers in KL
Navy to repatriate RI's illegal migrant workers in KL
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Navy will once again be called
upon to help repatriate more than 17,000 illegal Indonesian
migrant workers currently being detained by Malaysian
authorities.
"The Indonesian government can understand the Malaysian
government's plan to repatriate the Indonesian workers,"
Indonesia's foreign minister Ali Alatas said here yesterday.
The move will comply with Kuala Lumpur's recent request that
the Indonesian government help with the repatriation of the
workers.
Malaysian foreign minister Abdullah Badawi recently said
17,576 Indonesians have been detained by police.
Last year, the navy also sent a ship to take several thousand
illegal Indonesian immigrants home.
The sudden downturn in the economies of southeast Asia has
also effected Malaysia, putting thousands of migrant workers out
of work.
"We will work together with Malaysia in dealing with the
repatriation," Alatas said.
No details were available as to when the Navy ship would
depart, but Alatas said: "We do realize this is an urgent
matter."
An Indonesian team is expected to depart for Malaysia soon to
make an official tally of the number to be sent back.
Shots
In Kuala Lumpur, Reuters quoted yesterday local newspaper
reports saying that Malaysian marine police fired warning shots
before detaining 232 immigrants on board two overcrowded
Indonesian trawlers.
The incident, which the newspapers said occurred Tuesday
night, highlighted the mounting number of desperate Indonesians
trying to cross into neighboring Malaysia by boat.
The commander of the police patrol craft, Marzuki Che Shuib,
said his vessel intercepted two Indonesian trawlers after
nightfall Tuesday about 5.7 nautical miles from the southwestern
coast of the Malaysia Peninsular, near Parit Jawa.
Parit Jawa is about 50 kilometers off Sumatra and about 165
kilometers southeast of Kuala Lumpur.
Marzuki was quoted in The New Straits Times and The Star as
saying one of the trawlers rammed the police boat before an
officer fired three warning shots.
The captains of the trawlers, which were designed to carry a
maximum of 40 passengers, then surrendered, The New Straits Times
said.
Deputy Home Minister Tajol Rosli Ghazali said Wednesday that
between 300 and 400 illegal immigrants were arriving every day,
mainly from Indonesia.
He was quoted by the official Bernama news agency as saying
the government was forced to deport some 500 immigrants every day
to make room in detention camps.
Tajol said Malaysian authorities were forced to use boats
belonging to local companies to ship back the immigrants, and
that deportation cost 104 ringgit (US$28) per Indonesian.
Director General of the Immigration Department Aseh Che Mat
was quoted by Bernama Wednesday as saying that 15,000 Indonesian
immigrants had been deported this year.
Malaysian authorities estimate that 800,000 of the two million
foreign workers are illegal, most of which are Indonesians. (mds)