Trends Of Mataram Residents To Become Migrant Workers Increase, Malaysia Is Still Favorite

Head of the Mataram City Manpower Office (Disnaker) H Rudi Suryawan. BETWEEN/Nirkomala.

MATARAM The Manpower Service (Disnaker) of Mataram City, West Nusa Tenggara, noted an increase in public interest in working abroad as Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) throughout 2025.

Head of Mataram City Manpower Office, Rudi Suryawan, said the number of PMI departures from Mataram until the middle of this year had exceeded half of the total departures in 2024.

"By 2024, the number of PMIs from Mataram City was recorded at around 700 people. Meanwhile, from January to July 2025, the number has reached 512 people," said Rudi in Mataram, Antara, Thursday, August 7.

According to him, this spike was influenced by the reopening of job opportunities in Malaysia, which has been the favorite destination country for migrant workers from Mataram.

Of the total 512 PMIs departing in 2025, 318 people chose Malaysia as the destination country. In addition, a number of Mataram residents also worked to Taiwan (46 people), Singapore (36 people), Saudi Arabia (34 people), as well as other countries such as Hong Kong, Turkey, Brunei Darussalam, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, and Kuwait.

Rudi explained, every day there are 5 to 10 PMI candidates who undergo the process of recommendation and selection for departure, especially to Malaysia. The process includes document verification such as a work order from the company (job order), as well as a permit document from the husband or parents, depending on the status of the marriage.

After all the complete documents, PMI candidates will be recommended to make passports and continue the process to the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Service Center (BP3MI) before departing.

"If all the documents are complete, PMI candidates will enter the advanced stage at BP3MI for the departure process," said Rudi.

He added that departures through official channels do not require personal costs because all financing is borne by the company, ranging from making passports, health checks, to plane tickets.

"The company will cover the cost first, then it will be replaced after PMI arrives at the destination country," he said.

Although until now there has not been a case of sending illegal PMIs from Mataram, Rudi emphasized that his party remains vigilant. He appreciated the role of BP3MI which often thwarted illegal departures from large airports such as Soekarno-Hatta and Batam.

“Calon PMI ilegal akan terdeteksi saat pemeriksaan di bandara. Mereka kemudian gagal berangkat dan dipulangkan ke daerah asal,” katanya.

Untuk itu, Rudi mengimbau masyarakat yang ingin bekerja di luar negeri agar memilih jalur resmi guna memperoleh perlindungan hukum dan jaminan keselamatan kerja.

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Illegal PMI candidates will be detected during inspections at the airport. They then failed to leave and were sent back to their area of origin," he said.

For this reason, Rudi appealed to people who want to work abroad to choose an official route to obtain legal protection and job safety guarantees.