"They will depart by way of PT. Marco Lombok", one of the migrant workers, M. Ali from Central Lombok, said when leaving Lombok on Wednesday.
He was leaving for Malaysia on Wednesday night, and they last pictures were being taken in Mataram.
He and the others will be employed in the oil palm plantations with an extendable contract of two years.
At first they were so worried not to be able to go because of the conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia.
Ali said that even their legal departure had undergone a very long process, and even after they managed to secure a passport, they still had to wait for at least six months.
"Some managed to leave illegally and would arrive in Malaysia in a week, but then they will be facing problems, caught and even jailed," he said.
In 2010 the plan was to send 60,000 people, an increase from last year`s 53,371 and in 2011 their number might increase further.
Thousands of migrant workers NTB had been sent to Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Brunei Darussalam, Korea and Japan, but mostly to Malaysia reaching 70 pct.
He said the vast majority of the migrant workers sent to Malaysia were black collar workers, namely working in the oil palm plantations, and some store attendants, car drivers and house maids.
These migrant workers managed to send to their families at home in NTB more than Rp645.34 billion.(*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
