Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
Indonesia’s Manpower and Transmigration Minister Fahmi Idris said his government
also planned to cut red tape to smoothen the re-entry of illegal workers who
had left during the amnesty period.
<p>"We will do away with about six to seven items to cut red tape to smoothen
the re-entry of the illegal workers," he said after receiving the first
batch of 73 legalised Indonesian workers, including four women, here yesterday.
</p>
<p>The workers arrived at 6.30pm from Medan amid shouts of "Hidup Pak Lah"
by some Indonesian consulate staff at the port. </p>
<p>Holding a huge yellow banner thanking Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi and the Malaysian Government for the amnesty exercise, they were received
at the port by Indonesian consulate and Malaysian immigration officials. </p>
<p>Most of the first batch of workers would be deployed as cooks and construction
site workers in Genting Highlands and Kuala Lumpur. </p>
<p>Describing the amnesty exercise as highly successful and efficient, Fahmi said
there were about 350,000 more illegal workers awaiting re-entry. </p>
<p>He said they were charged 2.99 million rupiah (RM1,220) for the services rendered
to smoothen their legalisation process. </p>
<p>One of the workers, Sunardi, 26, from Malang, East Jawa, will head to Genting
Highlands to work at a construction site. </p>
<p>Holding a guitar, he said he was looking forward to working legally in Malaysia.
</p>
<p>"It’s a relief to be able to come freely to work in Malaysia without having
to hide from the authorities or be taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers,"
he added.
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