190 Indonesian Migrant Workers In Malaysia Return To Indonesia

A number of PMIs from Malaysia arrived in the country via Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, Thursday (4/8/2022). (ANTARA/Azmi Samsul Maarif)

TANGERANG - As many as 190 Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) in Malaysia returned to the country via Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten.

"Currently, 190 people out of 3,200 children of the nation will be deported from Malaysia in 2022," said Head of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI) Benny Rhamdani when picking up PMI arrivals at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, August 4th.

He said they were sent home because they experienced several problems, such as abuse, exploitation, and victims of human trafficking.

Benny said they came from several regions, including East Java, West Nusa Tenggara, North Sumatra, Central Java, West Java, Lampung, Riau Islands, West Sumatra, West Sulawesi, Riau, West Kalimantan, Banten, Jakarta, East Nusa Tenggara, Central Sulawesi, and Jambi.

The highest number of them, among others, East Java 87 people, NTB 36 people, Central Java 18 people, West Java 12 people, North Sumatra 11 people, while the other 22 people from 11 provinces.

He said the rest of the PMI who were still in Malaysia would return to the country gradually.

"We will later take them to the Jakarta Athlete's Wisma, where a very representative place for them. Eating, drinking is provided by the state, toiletries are provided," he said.

Benny said the repatriation of hundreds of migrant workers was the result of the cooperation of all relevant institutions, including the handling by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the return being funded by the state.

"We start with the collaboration of ministries and institutions, we can see, whatever they used to be, their history went unofficially, but the state's attention was extraordinary," he said.