09/04/07 00:08
Surabaya - The government of Malaysia has promised to provide Indonesian migrant workers with IDs in the wake of the recent escape of domestic helper Ceriyati from a 15-storey condominium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
"After Ceriyati`s escape in June 2007, the Malaysian government had a closed door meeting in Surabaya," Head of the Surabaya office of the International Organization for Migration Ummu A Mukarnawati said here on Monday.
He made the remark in a national seminar on the implementation of Law No 21/2007 on eradication of people trafficking in the framework of the 12nd anniversary of the Study Center on Human Rights (PusHAM) of Surabaya University.
According to him, the closed door meeting produced an agreement under which the Malaysian government would provide IDs to Indonesian migrant workers.
"Unfortunately the IDs, as the Malaysian government has agreed to provide because Indonesian migrant workers are not allowed to carry their passports, have yet to be issued as promised," he said.
The ban on carrying passports by Indonesian workers is aimed to save Malaysian residents from being cheated by the workers who can move from one employer to another.
"That reason is acceptable to the Indonesian government which asks Malaysia to provide the workers with IDs in a bid to prevent them from police arrest for having no passport," he said.
However, he said, the agreement formulated in June 2007 has never been implemented, so that his side hoped the Indonesian government ask Malaysia to meet their promise.
Such IDs for Indonesian migrant workers are very important to prevent them from police arrest because they are legally employed in Malaysia.
"However, the government should intensify control of illegal workers by increasing the collection of data in villages, immigration, manpower office and the police," he said.
Without tight control, illegal workers will remain a big problem as long as the secret passages in Kalimantan and Riau islands still existed.(*)
