Going To Work In Malaysia Is Only A Passport Capital, 7 Illegal PMIs From Southeast Sulawesi Returned By BP3MI

Seven Indonesian migrant workers from West Muna Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province who were repatriated. (Between/La Ode Muh Deden Saputra)

JAKARTA - A total of seven non-procedural Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) from Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra) who want to go to work in Malaysia only have a passport to be sent home.

The repatriation was carried out by the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Service Center (BP3MI) in Southeast Sulawesi. The seven of them were returned to their area of origin, namely Wadaga District, West Muna Regency.

"The seven PMI candidates were previously detained by the Pontianak Immigration Officer, West Kalimantan because they did not have complete documents when they were about to cross the border," said Head of BP3MI La Ode Askar when met in Kendari, Thursday, November 30, as reported by Antara.

He explained that the seven of them were sent home after being banned and detained for several days by Immigration officers because they only had passports to go to work in Malaysia.

"They aim to go to Malaysia but they don't have complete documents, they only have passports and then depart in a non-procedural way," said Askar.

He explained, in the process, migrant workers who want to go abroad must have complete documents so that they can get guarantees both in terms of safety, law, social, and economics from the state.

"When leaving without work documents, legally he is in a country where he cannot be protected by the state," he said.

Meanwhile, according to one illegal PMI candidate La Ode Ichlas, he admitted that he left because he was promised a decent job by someone even without complete documents.

He revealed that during his departure, he and six colleagues named La Sina, Kardion, Wa Ode Uluwu, La Ode Sifu Binani, Rahman Sofi Siba, and La Saingkuni will be employed in oil palm plantations in Malaysia.

"Initially we got information from friends. We departed from Kendari, when we arrived in Kalimantan we were detained in the room where we checked our passports and immediately handed them over to the Entikong Police," he said.