Document Completeness Problems And Involved In Criminal Cases, 163 PMI Deported From Malaysia Today

Hundreds of non-procedural PMIs who were repatriated from Malaysia at Sri Bintan Pura Port, Tanjungpinang. (Doc. BETWEEN/HO-BP3MI Kepri)

A total of 163 non-procedural Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) were deported from Malaysia today. The number of problematic PMIs was disclosed by the Head of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Service Center (BP3MI) Kombes Amingga M Primastito.

"Today, Saturday (10/6) the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) Johor Bahru, Malaysia facilitated the deportation of 163 PMIs, due to documents completeness and involvement in criminal cases," Amingga said when contacted in Batam, Riau Islands, Saturday.

He said the 163 non-procedural PMIs who were deported were repatriated in two scheduled departures via Pasir Gudang Port, Malaysia to Sri Bintan Pura port, Tanjungpinang.

"They were sent in two groups. The first group of 55 people arrived at 11.00 WIB. The second group consisted of 108 people at 13.00 WIB arriving in Tanjungpinang," he said, quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, June 10.

Amingga explained that hundreds of non-procedural PMIs who were deported by Malaysia were known to have departed through various international ports and airports in Sumatra and Java.

On average, many of them tricked the officers by pretending to be travelers to Malaysia. However, after arriving at the destination country, they instead worked without official documents issued by the Government of Indonesia.

"Many of them pretended to be travelers. Arriving in Malaysia they worked there without official documents. Departing not all from Batam, but also from Juanda Airport Surabaya, Soekarno Hatta Airport, Bengkalis, Dumai and Tanjung Balai Asahan," he said.

There are also some PMIs who enter using official routes to Malaysia, but when they arrive there, they create problems. So they finally became non-procedural PMIs.

"There were some people who went officially, but when they were in the placement country they got persuasion from their friends so they ran away from their employers to change jobs elsewhere, it ended up being illegal," Amingga concluded.