RI to raise migrant worker issue in high-level talks with Malaysia

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri would raise the issue of Indonesians illegally working in Malaysia during talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Aug. 7 and Aug. 8 in Bali, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said on Tuesday.

"During the planned bilateral talks, we will raise the issue of Indonesian workers as part of the main agenda," Hassan said.

The minister said the meeting was a follow on from a meeting between the two leaders last August.

The meeting was scheduled for February but it was postponed due to the two leaders' heavy work commitments.

Malaysian authorities have given illegal Indonesian workers till July, 31, 2002 to return home or be charged under tough new immigration laws.

The law threatens caning, three-month jail sentences and 10,000 Malaysian ringgit fines for those without the necessary immigration documents. Malaysians who employ illegal migrants can also be jailed for three months and fined 5,000 ringgits.

Malaysia toughened its laws following violence by Indonesian workers at a textile company in Seremban, near Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 17, 2002. Some 15 Indonesian workers were held responsible for the incident.

Last October, a riot involving illegal immigrants from Indonesia and Bangladesh erupted in a detention camp in Johor Bahru in response to their arrest by Malaysian authorities.

Separately, Marty Natalegawa, spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, said tens of thousands of illegal Indonesian migrants were facing stern penalties as they had no identity cards nor the required immigration documents to stay and work in Malaysia.

However, according to The Jakarta Post's data, the number of illegal Indonesian workers in Malaysia has reached hundreds of thousands.

Many consider the issue a new factor straining the two countries's bilateral ties.

The new laws were revealed by the Malaysian government months ago, but so far the Indonesian government is yet to repatriate its citizens.

From March to July, Indonesia's representative office in Kinibalu managed to repatriate about 25,000 illegal workers who were willing and able to pay for their journey home.

"The financial problems have hampered the repatriation of the rest of the Indonesian workers and we have had to discuss the issue with Malaysia to share the cost of the repatriation," Marty said.

He said the government had ordered the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to call on illegal Indonesian immigrants to leave the country before the new laws took effect.

"We are aware of the new immigration act and we respect Malaysian regulations and have tried to inform Indonesian citizens in that country," he said.

Marty said during the upcoming bilateral talks Indonesia would propose to amend the bilateral agreement on the workers status, attempting to ensure all workers entered Malaysia legally.

The deadline for the new immigration act also creates concern for people living on the border of the two countries as most of their economic activities came from Malaysia.

The chairman of the Social Economic Team of Indonesia-Malaysia in West Kalimantan (Sosek Malindo), Eka Kawirayu, urged both governments to immediately resolve the issue.

In the Sosek meeting in Serawak, Malaysia, Eka pleaded with the Malaysian government to renegotiate the implementation of the new immigration act.

"This is a very important issue and has to be handled immediately," Antara quoted him as saying.