'Orchid and stick' policy on foreigners
'Orchid and stick' policy on foreigners
JAKARTA (JP): If you're an alien, you can expect an immigration official to hand you a corsage of orchid today. That is, provided that all your immigration papers are in order.
If they're not, you're in deep trouble.
The Directorate General of Immigration launched a two-day campaign, code-named Orchid Operation, yesterday for on the spot checks against foreigners in Jakarta and Bali to make sure their presence here is legitimate.
On the first day, the immigration office caught 14 foreigners in Jakarta whose papers were not in order. They had mostly overstayed their visas here.
They were three Americans, six Pakistanis, two Filipinos, two South Koreans and one Sri Lankan. One of the Pakistanis managed to flee while the immigration officers were sorting through his papers. Some of them will be deported eventually.
In Bali, the operation failed to net any illegal foreigners.
But the immigration officers handed out orchids to hundreds of foreigners. In Bali, they handed out more than 400 yesterday and in Jakarta around 200.
The operation continues today.
One operation yesterday targeted Jalan Jaksa in Central Jakarta, which is lined with inns and dormitories catering for low-budget tourists, once known as the "dollar a day" visitors.
Suresh, a Sri Lankan caught in Jl. Jaksa, was detained because he could only provide a photocopy of his passport to the officers. "I am not sure where I put my passport," he said when the officers pressed him to produce his passport.
A Filipino couple were also caught on Jl. Jaksa because they have overstayed their visas. The Filipino, who begged that their names not be disclosed by the newspapers, said that "We had to extend our stay because my wife was still under medical treatment."
Rahardi Suroprawiro, the director of supervision and execution at the Directorate General of Immigration, told reporters earlier that the weekend operation in Jakarta and Bali involved nearly 300 officers and would cost about Rp16 million (US$ 7,000), including the orchids.
He said the orchids were being used to soothe earlier concerns that the operation was intimidating foreign visitors to the country.
Rahardi said the authorities felt it was necessary to conduct the campaign in Jakarta and Bali, because during a similar operation, code-named Waspada, conducted throughout the country last month, the result for Jakarta and Bali was not satisfactory.
During the operation last month, the authorities only netted four foreigners in Jakarta whose papers were not in order. This, he said, was too small a number considering the number of foreigners visiting the Indonesian capital.
Rahardi also stressed that all foreigners in Indonesia are required to take their passports with them wherever they go. Those who reside in the country are required to bring their KIM- S, which is their ID card.
He said his office plans another operation in February and March.
Rahardi said the operation is not targeted at luxury hotels because such establishments usually check the passports of their foreign guests, and would inform the authorities of any irregularities. (imn)