Komnas HAM And The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Strive To Repatriate 2,959 Indonesian Citizens From Malaysian Immigration Detainees

JAKARTA - The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are trying to repatriate 2,959 Indonesian citizens/Indonesian migrant workers (WNI/PMI) from the Malaysian Immigration Detention Center (DTI).

"Komnas HAM invites that there be joint efforts, as soon as possible, repatriation to Indonesia," said Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Anis Hidayah as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, July 13.

Anis Hidayah explained that the 2,959 Indonesian citizens face prolonged detention indefinitely. Previously, they had completed their sentence and were preparing to be deported.

The depot where they are being held is currently supposed to be a temporary shelter before being deported from Malaysia to return to Indonesia. However, there are problems with the repatriation of Indonesian citizens in DTI, so they cannot be sent home until an undetermined time.

One of these problems is the unclear mechanism for payment of repatriation. This mechanism is currently being discussed by the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia.

"Their detention period has indeed run out, so a joint solution between the two countries is needed to ensure, in the nearest term, for repatriation," said Anis.

Of the 2,959 Indonesian citizens detained in DTI Malaysia, 2,160 are male, 697 are female prisoners, and 102 detainees are children under the age of 17 years. Therefore, Komnas HAM considered it important to immediately respond to the situation.

Moreover, the number of Indonesian citizens in the Malaysian detention depot has exceeded the capacity or overload. This raises a number of problems faced by detainees, such as lack of access to health services and poor sanitation.

"It is not justified that there is a situation where prisoners are in inappropriate condition, which results in a bad situation due to a prolonged period of detention," said Anis.