Anwar urges humane treatment of RI workers

Jakarta Post
Malaysia should deal with migrant workers humanely and avoid acting arrogantly in its relations with Indonesia, former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said.
During a speech at the Habibie Center in South Jakarta on Monday, Anwar, who was sacked and jailed in 1999 by then Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohammad, told the audience that distrust and suspicion were the root causes of troubled relations between the two countries.
"This means that a single case such as the arrest of an Indonesian migrant worker ... could cause heightened tensions between the two nations," he said.
Anwar said the only way for Malaysia to ease tensions with Indonesia was to deal with Indonesian migrant workers humanely rather than merely handing over legal or economic punishments.
"We are dealing with people here so we must act humanely and avoid abusively handling other human beings," he said.
Anwar said Malaysian authorities should send Indonesian migrants violating their visas home rather than jailing them.
"If Malaysians attack Indonesians they must be punished, just as Indonesians committing crimes must also be punished. This is not about ethnicity. It is about applying the law," he added.
Relations between the two countries soured again recently after a series of incidents involving Indonesian citizens in Malaysia.
One such case involved Indonesian karate referee Donald Peter Luther Kolopito, who was beaten up for no apparent reason in Malaysia several weeks ago, sparking widespread criticism.
Cases involving the abuse or maltreatment of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia are also regularly reported on in the Indonesian media.
Anwar said Malaysia should avoid acting arrogantly when dealing with issues concerning Indonesia, as such an approach would only exacerbate tensions.
"We shouldn't forget that we need each other. Indonesia helped us when we needed to improve our education standards and the Indonesian system became the foundation of the current Malaysian education system. Now Malaysians need Indonesian workers in many areas," he said.
Relations between Indonesia and Malaysia should not depend solely on politics and should focus more on people, economic contracts and business, Anwar added.
He told the audience that a broad-based approach would prevent political interests from dictating bilateral relations in the future.

Enter Malaysia Legally For Good Treatment As Foreign Workforce, Says Envoy
JAKARTA, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- Foreigners seeking employment in Malaysia must enter the country legally and will qualify for the good treatment accorded to the foreign workforce, Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Datuk Zainal Abidin Mohamed Zain said today.
Their rights as workers could not be guaranteed by the country's laws if they were illegal immigrants, and they would eventually face problems, he said.
"This will result in problems for the Malaysian and Indonesian governments and interfere with the cordial bilateral relations," he said when opening an induction course for 42 Indonesian manpower trainers at a hotel here.
Zainal Abidin said potential Indonesian workers heading for Malaysia should be equipped with sufficient knowledge on Malaysia prior to their departure to reduce problems related to communication, culture and ignorance of Malaysian laws.
He said that in Malaysia, efforts had been taken since Nov 1 2005 to have compulsory induction courses in the countries supplying the foreign workforce to ensure that foreign workers understand the conditions in Malaysia to be able to work in peace and comfort.
On the cases of abuse of Indonesian workers, Zainal Abidin said he had asked the Malaysian authorities and the courts to expedite the hearing of highly publicised cases that could undermine bilateral relations.
"Nevertheless, it must be understood that the process of law takes time as justice must be upheld," he said.
Meanwhile, head of the Indonesian National Labour Placement and Protection Agency Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat said he appreciated Malaysia's initiative to conduct the training.

tunku : when you were the deputy prime minister what have you done about it?? now that you are a dirt you talk like a cow dang.you said that Malaysian authorities should send Indonesian migrants violating their visas home rather than jailing them, would you bear the cost of it? first of all, the Indonesian who wants to come in should enter legally, not illegally.We Malaysian has always treat them good,even to the extent some of the Malaysian protects the illegal indonesian.so anwar, don't try to be hero in indonesia, may be you should consider getting their citizenship and contest the election there as you are only a dirt in Malaysia.when
the malays here has stop supporting you,you tried gaining the support of non malays.when the non malays dont look at you, you try getting support outside malaysia.i pity a dirt like you but you deserve it.