KALTIM - A child with the initials AAP (12) from Bontang, East Kalimantan (Kaltim), became a victim of exploitation in Malaysia. The Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) Kuching helped his return or repatriation.
Acting Consular Function I of the Indonesian Consulate General in Kuching, Budimansyah, said the boy's return was through the Entikong State Border Post (PLBN), Sanggau, West Kalimantan (West Kalimantan).
"We sent this child home with several of our other residents, and some were deported by Malaysian Immigration through the Entikong PLBN," he said at the Entikong Sanggau PLBN, Tuesday, December 6, which was confiscated by Antara.
Budi explained that the disclosure of the child exploitation case began with a report by the Deputy for Child Special Protection, the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection of the Republic of Indonesia on October 19, 2022. The report relates to the alleged case of economic exploitation of a boy with the initials AAP.
Following up on the report, the Indonesian Consulate General in Kuching visited the whereabouts of the person concerned in the oil palm plantation area owned by the company Hass Palm Oil Mill, Batu Niah, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia. The Indonesian Consulate General in Kuching traveled by land for about 17 hours.
"Based on the results of the interview with the person concerned, the parents and field administrators of the Hass Palm Oil company, information was obtained that the person concerned was still 12 years old and had not yet completed his education at Class VI SD," said Budi.
According to Budi, the child with the initials AAP was employed in the Hass Palm Oil field because he followed his biological father with the initials AK. AAP was also taken by his father without coercion, because no one guarded him if he was left in his hometown in Bontang, East Kalimantan.
Meanwhile, from AK, AAP has been in an oil palm field for three months and entered Sarawak with his parents who were assisted by an agent or sponsor named Asrian through illegal routes without using official travel documents (passports).
For this case, said Budi, the company Hass Palm Oil has acknowledged and apologized for the negligence in its field. The field management argued that they only knew the person concerned was 18 years old.
"We from the Indonesian Consulate General in Kuching have given a stern warning to the company, because Indonesian citizens (WNI) can be employed at least 18 years old," said Budi.
Budimansyah added that the Indonesian Consulate General in Kuching also explained to his parents that considering that his son was still 18 years old, he could not be employed in the fields and had to be sent back to Indonesia to continue his studies in Indonesia.
Then preparations for repatriation, since November 10, 2022, the person concerned has been taken to Kuching and placed in the Temporary Shelter (TSS) or the Indonesian Consulate General in Kuching. And today, December 6, 2022, the person concerned will be sent back to the village, originally through the Entikong PLBN," he said.
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