Minister Karding Calls None Of Indonesian Migrant Workers In Cambodia-Myanmar Legal

JAKARTA - Minister of Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (P2MI) Abdul Kadir Karding ensured that Indonesian migrant workers in Cambodia and Myanmar departed not according to procedures or illegal. This is because the government has never had cooperation with the two countries.

"There has never been bilateral or multilateral cooperation in the placement of workers to Cambodia and Myanmar, nothing," said Karding during a joint working meeting with Committee III of the Regional Representative Council (DPD), Tuesday, February 25.

The Indonesian migrant workers often use tourist visas as a mode to enter the two countries in Southeast Asia.

"So no one goes to Myanmar using a work visa. They go on tourist visas, transit in Thailand, Malaysia, no one goes directly to Myanmar and Cambodia," said Minister Karding.

Karding also said that the reckless action taken by migrant workers influenced immigration to using the rat route to work in Cambodia and Myanmar was actually beyond the government's responsibility.

However, because it carries out the constitutional mandate, the government will continue to provide protection for Indonesian citizens as well as continue to actively provide counseling on the dangers of becoming illegal or unprocedural migrant workers.

"So actually we are not responsible for that. Even though it is our citizens, we have to protect them like it or not," said Karding.

Based on a number of incidents, the existence of illegal Indonesian migrant workers is usually only known after they become victims of torture in Cambodia and Myanmar.

Therefore, Karding advised the public not to be tempted by the lure of high salaries so that they were desperate to enter Cambodia or Myanmar to work illegally.

It is recommended that those who wish to work abroad take procedural channels to avoid crime in the destination country.

"After they got caught up with you there, it went viral, then we found out, oh there are residents we were hit by you there. Then we coordinated with the foreign ministry," said Karding.