Malaysia To Begin Crackdown On Illegal Workers Mar 1

Associated Press
Monday, February 14, 2005

KUALA LUMPUR (AP)--Malaysia will end its amnesty for illegal Indonesian workers this month and start arresting and deporting them from March 1, the prime minister said Monday after talks with the visiting Indonesian president.

The amnesty "will be accelerated so that by the end of February this problem will no longer exist," Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said at a joint news conference with Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"After February, action will be taken. From March 1, operations that have been successfully carried out before will be continued," Abdullah said.

Yudhoyono appeared to endorse the Malaysian stand, saying "We want to resolve any problem we have in good spirits, especially of Indonesians working illegally in Malaysia."

The comments appeared to signal an easing of tensions between the two countries over the issue of illegal migrant workers. Since Malaysia announced an amnesty in October for the 1 million illegal migrant workers in the country - most of them Indonesians - about 400,000 have left but another 500,000 have remained.

The Indonesian government says they are awaiting back wages from unscrupulous employees who are refusing to pay several months' salaries.

Abdullah said the wage dispute doesn't involve the Malaysian government. "But the government is willing to advise the employers," he said.

Indonesian workers form the backbone of Malaysia's work force in menial jobs that Malaysians refuse to do - on construction sites and plantations, in restaurants and other low-paying industries.

Besides the illegal workers, some half million Indonesians are in Malaysia with legal work permits.