RI and Malaysia to sign MoU on migrant workers

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia and Malaysia are scheduled to discuss a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Indonesian migrant labor in September in a bid to address the recent humanitarian crisis that resulted from the expulsion of Indonesian illegal workers from Malaysia.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Monday that the new memorandum would cover all issues related to migrant workers.

"The Indonesian government will prepare an MoU that covers the recruitment and replacement of these workers, and the concept will then be discussed with Malaysia in September," Hassan said during a press conference organized to mark the 57th anniversary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He stressed that it was important to achieve a comprehensive solution to the migrant worker issue that could accommodate the interests of both countries.

The draft of the new MoU, Hassan said, would be jointly discussed by his ministry, the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

The issue of illegal Indonesian workers in Malaysia came to a head after the neighboring country introduced a new Immigration Act permitting caning, fines and jail terms for foreigners working illegally in that country.

According to Minister Hassan, some 320,000 illegal workers had been deported to Indonesia, while some 160,000 workers had passed through the Indonesian border town of Nunukan in East Kalimantan from East Malaysia.

Dozens of Indonesians have already been caned, fined or imprisoned since the law took effect on Aug. 1. They are to be deported after serving their sentences.

"It is the right of Malaysia as a sovereign country to deal with the issue of illegal migrant workers there, and it is time for us to do something to improve matters regarding this issue," Hassan said.

Indonesia and Malaysia failed to agree on a memorandum of understanding on illegal workers during a two-day consultation meeting between President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad at the Tampaksiring palace in Bali earlier this month.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea blamed the failure on Minister Hassan, accusing him of not engaging in enough diplomatic efforts with Malaysia.

The earlier, proposed MoU was supposed to have provided for the sharing of the burden of deporting illegal workers between Indonesia and Malaysia.

Hassan, however, argued that there was no point in signing such an agreement with Malaysia as the latter had already started deporting Indonesian illegal workers.

"I do not want to engage in a public debate with my colleague, but people need to understand that the decision to develop a more comprehensive MoU on labor was reached during an interdepartmental meeting and not by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs alone," Hassan said.