Number of people going abroad 'normal'

JAKARTA (JP): Director General of Immigration M. Mudakir said on Thursday the rate of Indonesians traveling abroad through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport remained normal despite mounting speculation of unrest ahead of the June 7 general election.

Mudakir told reporters there was no major surge in travelers leaving through the airport and the nation's four other major air gateways -- Polonia in Medan, North Sumatra; Batam; Juanda in Surabaya, East Java, and Ngurah Rai in Denpasar, Bali.

"As of Thursday the number of travelers, especially Indonesians of Chinese descent, is still normal," he said.

Many Chinese-Indonesians fled the country during the devastating riots last May.

Mudakir explained that the number of Indonesians traveling abroad through Soekarno-Hatta airport was 86,406 in March, up from 66,992 in February but lower than the 103,914 in January.

At each of the 14 immigration counters, only about 10 to 20 people queued in the morning and between 10 to 30 in the afternoon, he said.

Last May, there were lines of up to 100 departing passengers, he said, at the height of the unrest a week before Soeharto resigned from the presidency.

He explained that the number of Indonesians traveling on 50 overseas flights from Soekarno-Hatta airport reached an average of 2,000 per day.

About half were Indonesian workers headed to the Middle East, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, he said.

Mudakir added the number of Indonesians traveling abroad through Juanda Airport reached 13,347 in March, 12,819 in February and 13,374 in January.

The number through Ngurah Rai airport reached 4,568 in March, 4,611 in February and 4,392 in January. For Batam, figures were 40,563 in March, 39,327 in February and 39,549 in January.

Polonia's departures were 6,483 in March, 9,357 in February and 12,587 in January, he said.

Concerning passport issuance, Mudakir said about 100 to 200 passports were issued at the immigration office in Jakarta per day. In comparison, 350 to 600 were issued per day last May, he said.

He added the figures showed people were applying for passports to work overseas, and it was not part of the rumored exodus from the country.

"Many people, dismissed by their companies due to the prolonged economic crisis, are eying the many job opportunities overseas," he said. (hhr)