Workers shun onerous rules to enter Malaysia illegally

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta

The large number of Indonesians living and working illegally in Malaysia is closely connected with "the complicated and expensive formal procedures" at home, and the absence of strict law enforcement in the neighboring country, according to labor activists and exporters.

Endang Sulistyawati, chairwoman of the Pancakarsa Foundation in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, told The Jakarta Post by telephone on Thursday that a large number of villagers from the province had illegally entered Malaysia because of what she described as the excessively convoluted and expensive legal procedures imposed for migration through official channels.

Job seekers are required to secure the permission of their wives/husbands, recommendations from local authorities, pay between Rp 1.5 million and Rp 4.5 million in "recruitment" fees and undergo a one-month vocational training course before their departure.

"Besides being forced to comply with these onerous procedures, which take months and cost millions of rupiah, many poor, uneducated job seekers end up being been held in holding centers in Jakarta, Tanjungpinang and Batam, and sometimes even wind up working in the sex trade before finally being sent to Malaysia.

"Therefore, many job seekers choose the illegal but quick way to enter Malaysia as it requires no advance payments and not so many documents," Endang said, adding that most illegal migrants ended up being underpaid in Malaysia because of their undocumented status.

Malaysia has launched almost annual forcible repatriation drives affecting thousands of illegal Indonesian migrants -- something that has strained the two nations' bilateral ties particularly over the last five years.

More than 70 workers died of hunger, malaria and other causes in Nunukan, East Kalimantan, and hundreds of others were jailed in East Malaysia between May and September 2002, when the Malaysian government started to enforce its strict new Immigration Act requiring the expulsion of all illegal migrants.

The Immigration Act was introduced against the backdrop of an increasing level of criminality involving illegal migrants.

Nevertheless, the demand for migrant labor in Malaysia remains high as most Malaysian workers are not interested in low-paid, menial jobs in the construction and plantation sectors.

Yunus Yamani, chairman of the Trust Funds (Wali Amanah) providing social security cover for workers employed overseas, said most Indonesians working illegally in Malaysia were poorly educated.

"The procedures are not complicated and the recruitment fees are not expensive compared to the minimum monthly wage of 450 ringgit. In addition, most never finished elementary school, one of the various administrative requirements job seekers have to satisfy if they want to work overseas legally," he said.

Labor exporter Saleh Alwaini blamed both Indonesia and Malaysia for the illegal migrant problem, saying both governments were not serious about preventing Indonesian migrants from illegally entering Malaysia.

"Besides the lack of a visa requirement, the relevant authorities here allow Indonesians to enter Malaysia to seek jobs without the necessary documents, while the Malaysian authorities fail to deal firmly with Malaysians who employ illegal foreign workers," he said.

Meanwhile, Marty Natalegawa, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Friday that the Indonesian government had already sent a diplomatic note to the Malaysian authorities, asking for cooperation in the planned deportation of illegal migrants.

"We hope the Malaysian government will inform our embassy at least seven days before the deportation process," he said.

The Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia, Marty said, has set up a work unit assigned to help identify problems and monitor the development of Malaysia's policies and respond to them quickly.

He added that the government was planning to meet officials from related institutions in Malaysia, particularly from the foreign ministry and the ministry of human development resources, to further discuss the issue.