Returnees still want to work abroad illegally

Returnees still want to work abroad illegally

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta/Medan

Despite the tougher policy against illegal migrant workers in
Malaysia, the country remains a mecca for cash-strapped
Indonesians who wish to change their lives.

Still fresh from a bitter exodus home, some Indonesian illegal
workers vowed on Monday to try again to enter Malaysia or some
other destination illegally.

Andi, 27, from Sukorejo Wetan, Rejotangan, Tulungagung, East
Java, said on Monday he would avoid complying with the proper
procedures that in the past required him to fill out many
application forms, pay a lot of fees to legal overseas labor
suppliers and have his monthly salary cut.

"It's useless to register with an authorized labor export
supplier. We would prefer to become illegal workers as we've
known how to get there since the 1980s, even though we must take
many risks," he told The Jakarta Post.

"Many people here don't trust the labor export companies."
Andi was unemployed when he decided to travel to work in Malaysia
10 years ago illegally.

According to him, someone who works legally in Malaysia must
spend at least Rp 4 million (US$444) to pay off the legal
supplier and later, his or her salary must be cut monthly.

"But as illegal workers, we only pay Rp 2.5 million to a
tekong (illegal supplier) and receive a full wage every month,"
he said.

Andi, who is still unmarried, illegally worked for years as a
construction worker in Kuala Lumpur and was paid Rp 7 million a
month as he had already worked there more than five years.

Previously, he received a salary of about Rp 3.5 million per
month.

Laughing, he said that with this sort of money, he could save
about Rp 2.5 million a month or some Rp 30 million a year.

"I want to build my own house and get married here
(Tulungagung)," he said.

Andi added he would be unable to accomplish his dream if he
stayed at home and became a farmer with about one hectare of
paddy fields.

"As a farmer who owns a small field, what can you expect? It's
only enough to subsist on," he said.

He realized that in Malaysia he was vulnerable and enjoyed no
legal protection, but he found his employer never withheld his
salary and he had never been caught by the police.

"I heard my employer has backing from Malaysian government
officials," he said.

Another former illegal worker, Indro, 24, from Tulungagung,
shared the same view with Andi.

"Malaysia has been a haven for illegal workers over the past
few years. It's close to us, the salary is high and we have no
job at home, so it's stupid if we don't go there," Indro, who has
worked in Malaysia since 1998, told the Post.

He claimed that many of his friends could build mansions after
returning from Malaysia.

Andi and Indro are among the 480,000 illegal Indonesian
workers who have returned home due to the implementation of
Malaysia's new Immigration Act on Aug. 1., which threatens
illegal workers with canning, fines and jail sentences.

The two arrived home about three weeks ago.

Sopar, 38, and his wife Suwanti, 31, said upon their arrival
that they had worked illegally in Malaysia since 1998 to raise
money for their children's schooling.

"We only applied for tourist visas to go there. With the help
of our friends there, we were able to find jobs with high
salaries," Sopar said, adding he was paid Rp 115,000 per day in
Malaysia.

Although he has returned home, if he has a chance he would
sneak back into Malaysia as he wanted to earn more money for his
children.

Separately, Andi and Indro said they would temporarily stay at
home, but later on they planned to work illegally overseas again.

"I'd prefer to go to South Korea as many friends of mine work
there illegally and the salaries are higher than those in
Malaysia," Indro said.

"I may go to Taiwan, Korea or Hongkong," Andi said.

Both have been informed by their friends that these countries
are not as strict as Malaysia.

Syaufii Syamsuddin, an expert with the Ministry of Manpower
and Transmigration admitted that many chose to work overseas
illegally mainly due to the many fees imposed by legal labor
suppliers.

However, he said suppliers imposed such fees because many
overseas employers were reluctant to cover the costs associated
with employing foreign workers.

"The suppliers don't want to suffer losses. So they charge
overseas workers fees that are supposed to be paid by their
employers," he said.

He said the government had faced difficulties in controlling
the practice as it was dictated by the market.

Syaufii also admitted that the government had yet to decide on
concrete action to resolve the problems of illegal workers.