In June alone, we have, so far, intercepted 114 undocumented migrant workers, who had returned to Indonesia through the woods and illegal routesPontianak, W Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Military (TNI) Border Security Task Force personnel intercepted 876 undocumented Indonesian migrant workers, who returned from Malaysia through illegal routes near Entikong in Sanggau District, West Kalimantan Province, over the past few months.
"In June alone, we have, so far, intercepted 114 undocumented migrant workers, who had returned to Indonesia through the woods and illegal routes," the task force's commander of Beruang Hitam's 641th Raider Infantry Battalion, Lt Col Kukuh Suharwiyono, stated.
These migrant workers did not hold valid travel documents while entering the Indonesian border area during mid-day and night, he notified journalists at the task force's Indonesia-Malaysia border security post in Entikong on Friday.
Several undocumented migrant workers illegally employed at Malaysia's palm oil plantations admitted to the task force members of having fled the neighboring country due to the unavailability of jobs amid this ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, he stated.
The Malaysian government has enforced a movement control order (MCO) to slow down the spread of this COVID-19 pandemic.
Suharwiyono noted that the related Indonesian authorities from the Entikong border security checkpoint's immigration as well as customs and excise offices conducted a thorough checkup of all arriving workers.
He emphasized the need for arriving workers to follow healthcare and COVID-19 protocols after their health examination.
The Malaysian Government has recently hinted at the release of 4,800 undocumented Indonesian migrant workers from the country's immigration detention houses to then be repatriated to Indonesia since June 6.
Prior to their repatriation, all Indonesians currently housed at several detention houses in the neighboring country would be examined using the Rapid Test Kit Antigen (RTK Antigen) method to check for the presence of coronavirus.
ANTARA noted that the first phase of repatriation will be conducted on June 6 involving 2,189 undocumented Indonesian migrant workers staying at several immigration detention centers in the Malaysian Peninsula and Sarawak as well as 672 others in Sabah.
The first batch of 450 undocumented migrant workers would be flown back to Indonesia through Jakarta, Medan, and Surabaya on June 6, while 445 others would return through those three Indonesian cities on June 10.
The repatriation of 1,294 undocumented migrant workers to Medan would also be conducted by sea on June 22.
On May 29, the Malaysian government had highlighted the agreement of the governments of Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Nepal to its proposal to repatriate their illegal migrant workers and undocumented citizens that had tested negative for COVID-19.
Like several other countries across the globe, Malaysia has also been striving to flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases and to deal with the socio-economic impacts of the virus that initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Andilala, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
