Migrant Worker

Malaysia Deports 549 Indonesian Workers

VIVAnews - As many as 549 Indonesian migrant workers from West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) have been deported from Malaysia for the past two months. West Nusa Tenggara Manpower and Transmigration Agency recorded that 345 migrant workers were deported in January, and it reached 204 people in February.

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Head of West Nusa Tenggara Manpower and Transmigration Agency, Agus Patria, said there were several reasons for the deportation to take place including employee escape, contract expirity, and being underpaid as well as global economic crisis.

Nonetheless, the government cannot blame the countries where the migrant workers work. Patria said every country has its own rule in handling issues on migrant workers. Labor export companies are also involved in labor issues inasmuch as many companies are still violating the regulations.

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Despite the problems, there are still numerous people from NTB especially the ones living in Lombok who are eager to work abroad. In order to minimize the deportation frequency, West Nusa Tenggara Manpower and Transmigration Agency will evaluate NTB migrant workers that will be sent to several destination countries.

"The destination countries need many skilled labors. Therefore, we must send skillful workers to minimize the cost," he told reporters on Wednesday, Feb 18.

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Agus explained that most of the deported migrant workers do not posses any reliable skill. Some of them were illegal workers. Therefore, it was easy for the Malaysian government to deport them. Data of West Nusa Tenggara Manpower and Transmigration Agency showed that there were 5592 West Nusa Tenggara migrant workers who were deported in 2008.

"We arrested 153 illegal migrant workers who were trying to get to Malaysia on last October. This is the reason for the deportation. If the workers were legal and skillful, we could reduce the number of deportation," he said.

Coverage: Edy Gustan | Mataram

Translated by: Ariyantri E. Tarman

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