RI workers' deportations surprise local port officials

RI workers' deportations surprise local port officials

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

A total of 1,660 illegal Indonesian workers were deported home by
Malaysian authorities between Jan. 11 and Jan. 31 via Belawan
port in Medan, North Sumatra, in at least ten batches.

The deportations have astounded the port's immigration
authorities as they were made without prior notice from their
Malaysian counterparts.

"We only knew about the repatriation of illegal workers once
they arrived here," Muriaandi, chief of immigration at Belawan
port, told The Jakarta Post.

He was speaking after receiving the latest wave of 287 migrant
workers, which included 35 women.

Many of them returned without footwear, wearing just a piece
of cloth clinging to their bodies. "We had to leave all of our
belongings behind. It was an order by the Malaysian security
officers," said Steven, a resident from the island of Flores in
East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

The arrival of the ill-fated workers from Java, Sulawesi and
Sumatra as well as NTT, were also the target of unscrupulous
practices by brokers.

To get to Belawan port, immigrant workers were transported
aboard two ferries from Malaysia. They were later driven in
coaches to a temporary accommodation center in Amplas.

Local immigration officials admitted they did not know how the
workers would be repatriated to their hometowns in Medan.

"When the workers arrived in Belawan, a private transport
agency, PT Bintang Seribu, came to handle transport arrangements
back to their home villages," Muriaandi said.

The Malaysian government said it would send home some 450,000
Indonesian workers following a recent riot there involving
Indonesian illegal workers. The move drew criticism from Jakarta.

Some returning immigrants said they had been detained as
illegal workers for 15 days at Langkap immigration station in
Perak, Malaysia, before being deported to Indonesia.

Alwi, a 44-year old resident from the town of Sumenep on
Madura Island, said he had been arrested at his place of work by
Malaysian police on Jan. 17 for failing to show a working
license.

He said he had obtained a working license to work in Malaysia
after paying Rp 3 million. But on his way to the destination, his
permit document was seized by local staff in the Tanjung Uban
area, Riau.

Since then, Alwi -- a former farmer who had worked in Malaysia
for two years -- operated as an illegal worker. He said he was
determined to find a job in Malaysia after being persuaded by his
friend.

"During my stay in Malaysia, I was forced to move from one
place to another in order to escape arrest by local police," he
said.

However, he encountered some bad luck on Jan. 17 as the
security authorities arrested him while he was at work at an
animal husbandry company.

Another illegal worker Susilawati, 21, a resident from the
city of Banyuwangi in East Java, shared a similar experience. She
admitted that her working license was confiscated by local staff
who had accompanied her before she had headed off to Malaysia.

She had left home in order to get a job with a good income.
"When I was in Banyuwangi, I was jobless," said Susilawati, a
graduate from her town's senior high school.

The deportation of illegal workers, however, did not make
other Indonesians cancel their departure to Malaysia in search of
better jobs.

Dimyati, a 20-year old from the North Sumatra town of Deli
Serdang, was determined to sail to Malaysia along with 29 other
Indonesians via Belawan port. They departed hours after the 287
arrived there.

The group of 30 intended to work at PT Son Fuat Plastik in
Blang Phat, Johor.

Dimyati, who was accompanied by his parents to the port, said
he had actually no wish to go to work in Malaysia after hearing
reports that Kuala Lumpur had decided to deport some 450,000
illegal Indonesian workers.

But having been jobless for some time now and having already
spent Rp 3 million to obtain a working permit in Malaysia, he did
not want to miss a chance. "If we canceled the plan, the money
would be considered used up," said Dimyati, who had arranged the
license in November last year.

He said he would earn Rp 750,000 per month, including
allowances.