RI eases up on KL over migrant workers

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has admitted that it sees no real chance of persuading Malaysia to lift its restrictive policy on Indonesian migrant workers in the near future.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said on Thursday that Indonesia would just wait until the Malaysian government had calmed down before talks on reopening the border to Indonesian migrant workers.

"We cannot force our will on someone who is angry with us. Let the dispute subside, while waiting for the results of a joint commission set up to settle the matter.

"There is still a chance the restriction will be lifted. The Malaysian government may let in workers from countries other than Indonesia, but companies there are keen on employing Indonesians," Nuwa Wea said after attending a Cabinet meeting.

The Malaysian government claims there are 450,000 illegal Indonesian migrant within its borders, and it plans to deport 10,000 of them every month.

Malaysia has put a restriction on Indonesians working as maids and plantation workers after recent riots by Indonesian industrial workers.

During a meeting between relevant ministers of the two countries earlier this week, Malaysia rejected a plea by Indonesia to review the new restrictions on Indonesian workers.

An official said Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad would visit Jakarta later this year, adding that Indonesia would host a meeting of the joint commission next year.

Nuwa Wea said he would visit Malaysia for talks with Malaysian ministers of home affairs and human resources.

"I will meet the officials when conditions are favorable. The most important thing is, is that we have to fight for hundreds of thousands of Indonesians who will be affected by the new labor policy," said Nuwa Wea.

Separately, House of Representatives deputy speaker Tosari Wijaya criticized the government for not doing enough to protect Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia.

He said that as long as Malaysian companies were willing to employ Indonesians, the Malaysian government had no right to expel them.

Tosari, who is a unionist, will lead an eight-member delegation of the Federation of Indonesian Labor Unions to Malaysia next week. They will meet and solicit support from their Malaysian counterparts.