Singapore steps up blitz on illegal workers
Singapore steps up blitz on illegal workers
By Raj Rajendran
SINGAPORE (Reuters): A Singapore blitz on illegal workers may keep many Indonesians from trying to enter the island state, though some remain determined to flee their homeland's economic misery.
For thousands squatting on Indonesia's Bintan island, 45 minutes by sea from Singapore, Malaysia is the alternative to avoid the tough punishment meted out by the city state to illegal immigrants and anyone overstaying visas.
"About 80 percent of the people in Bintan are going to Malaysia, not Singapore," said Ali, a leader or "taikong" of a people-smuggling syndicate.
Bintan is the staging point for many Indonesians from the eastern half of the sprawling archipelago looking for greener pastures away from home.
The migrants, from East Java, Lombok, Madura and Kalimantan, pay up to Rp 1.5 million (US$172) each to syndicates for a one- way trip to the shores of Malaysia or Singapore. They are gambling for a chance to find work, whether legally or illegally.
"There is not enough to eat back home. The salary is cheap. I'm seeking out new opportunities by coming here," said Arsad, a farmer from Madura in his 30s, speaking in his native Bahasa Indonesia.
A farmer in Indonesia earns about Rp 200,000 to Rp 300,000 ($23 to $34.50) a month, but a job at a construction site in Singapore could easily bring him up to Singapore $350 (US$217) a month.
At any time, there are up to 3,000 migrants waiting in Bintan, with about 20 or 30 holed up in sweltering zinc-roofed houses or jammed by the hundreds in flimsy three-story apartments watched over by members of the syndicates.
Migrants arrive at Kijang in southern Bintan, then make their way to nearby Batam island for the 25-minute boat ride to Singapore or trek north to Tanjong Berakit for a longer voyage to Malaysia.
Indonesians are not Asia's only illegal immigrants. Large numbers also come from Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma). Experts estimate there are already about one million illegal workers in Thailand, around 800,000 in Malaysia and 25,000 in South Korea.
The Indonesian economy went into a tailspin late last year after its currency tumbled, setting off the country's worst economic crisis in decades. The rupiah has lost around 70 percent of its value to the U.S. dollar since the regional crisis started last July.
Indonesia's economic woes were compounded by a severe drought due to the El Nio weather phenomenon, which parched fertile lands and made it near impossible for farmers to grow their traditional rice crop.
"I have to support my parents who are very old. We couldn't grow any paddy (rice) on our land in Madura because there was no rain. We also owe a lot of money," said Ropi, another migrant. Ropi said his family owned four 100 sq meter (1,075 sq ft) plots of land on which his brother and sisters grow beans and corn.
"Sometimes this is enough to feed the family. Sometimes it is not. I'm trying to earn some money so that we will have the capital to plant paddy again," he said.
The Indonesian government estimates about 10 percent of its 90 million workforce would be unemployed by the end of the year, compared with 4.5 million already out of work.
"The problem of illegal immigrants from Indonesia has been of serious concern... in the last few years. The situation is likely to get even more serious as the economic situation in Indonesia deteriorates," Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs said this month.
This is a frightening prospect for neighboring countries also suffering in varying degrees from the economic crunch in Asia, and in some cases already unwilling hosts to large numbers of illegal workers.
Singapore's drive to nab illegal immigrants, who face such penalties as caning and stiff jail sentences, has had some impact in stemming the flow.
Illegal immigrants caught and convicted in Singapore face at least three strokes of the cane and can be jailed for up to six months.
On Saturday, for example, Singapore courts ordered jail and caning for 117 men convicted of entering the country illegally or overstaying visas. Last week police rounded up almost 800 suspected illegal immigrants.
"My friends back in Madura are not very sure of coming here now. They have heard of the tough punishments (in Singapore) and there are some delays in salary payments in Malaysia," Ropi said. "For me, it's too late to go back. The ship has sailed."
Numbers have also gone down because would-be migrants do not have the money to pay for their passage, he said.
Malaysia has also bolstered surveillance against illegal immigrants. It has already deported 15,000 Indonesian illegal immigrants so far this year, compared with 42,000 through the whole of last year.
Sensing the turn in the tide, syndicate leader Ali said he would part with his five remaining workers, who have been waiting for three months, for one million rupiah each.
The five tired looking emigrants were keen to leave despite Bintan's pristine beaches and world-class resorts.
Jusanto, one of the five, who comes from east Java, said: "We want to work. We will do any kind of work."