703 illegal TKI to be deported from Malaysia

JAKARTA. Seven hundred and three illegal Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) in Malaysia will be deported on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A statement by the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur stated that the workers would be flown home on Indonesian Air Force aircraft from the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s (TUDM) base in Subang, Selangor.

The deportations will be carried out in two stages, with 494 workers being flown out of Malaysia on the first day of operations on Tuesday, while the remaining 209 will be flown out on Wednesday. They will land at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta.

According to the statement, some of the 703 illegal workers were detained in various places in Malaysia, while 100 of them were “troubled” workers who took refuge at holding places owned by the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the Indonesian consulates in Johor Bahru and Penang.

One hundred of the workers have been blacklisted by the Malaysian Immigration.

The deportations are being carried out as part of a deal between Manpower Minister Muhammad Hanif Dhakiri and Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi on Dec. 18, which was also in line with the President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo government’s approach to bring illegal TKI workers home so that they would not cause legal problems for Indonesia.

Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Herman Prayitno said the Malaysian government had threatened that legal action would be taken against illegal workers.

He urged all prospective workers traveling to Malaysia to follow official procedures so that bilateral relations between the two countries could be preserved.