Indonesian Govt Urged to Eradicate Illegal Migrant Worker Business Mafia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The General Chairperson of the Indonesian Union (SBMI) Hariyanto Suwarno urged the government to eradicate the mafia that runs the Indonesian migrant worker business using illegal channels. This is to prevent further victims.

"The key is that this is a dirty placement business, there are mafias there, there are individuals there who need to be eradicated," said Hariyanto Suwarno when contacted by Tempo via a messaging application, Sunday, February 2, 2025.

According to him, too many Indonesian migrant workers have used illegal channels and ended up dying. Hariyanto said this happened because the legal mechanism to be able to work abroad was too complicated and expensive.

"I think if that (Illegal PMI business) is eradicated, then Indonesian citizens will have no choice but to leave procedurally," he said.

Hariyanto estimates that more than 50 percent of Indonesian citizens use illegal channels to work in Malaysia. "If the data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is 2.5 million, then the BP2MI data at that time was 900,000, the rest of the 900,000 to 2 million was confirmed to be unprocedural," said Hariyanto.

Recently, five Indonesian migrant workers were shot by the Malaysian Maritime Empowerment Agency (APMM) in Tanjung Rhu at 03:00 am, Friday, January 24, 2025. One of them died.

Director of Protection of Indonesian Citizens (PWNI) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Judha Nugraha explained the chronology of the shooting of the five Indonesian citizens in Tanjung Rhu. The chronology of the shooting was obtained from the Malaysian side.

Judha said that the five Indonesian citizens were shot by the Malaysian Maritime Empowerment Agency (APMM) in Tanjung Rhu at 03:00 am, Friday, January 24, 2025. In their group there were 26 Indonesian migrant workers on one ship.

The patrolling APMM then shot at the ship's passengers while in the waters of Tanjung Rhu. The APPM claimed the shooting was carried out after the ship's passengers allegedly resisted. This incident resulted in one Indonesian citizen dying and four others being injured.

The Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur responded to the incident by taking steps to ensure the protection of the affected Indonesian citizens. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also sent a diplomatic note to Malaysia to encourage a thorough investigation, including highlighting the possibility of excessive use of force.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur will continue to monitor the development of this case and provide consular and legal assistance to ensure that the rights of Indonesian citizens are fulfilled in the legal system in ," said Judha.

Eka Yudha Saputra contributed to writing this article.

Editor's Choice: 

 to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News