Their return to Jakarta was arranged and paid for by the Indonesian foreign ministry.
The ministry`s Director General of Protocol and Consular Affairs Lutfi Rauf greeted them and later symbolically handed them over to Deputy Head of the National Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI) Lisna Y Poeloengan at the airport.
Among those present at the airport to witness the event were Chairman of BNP2TKI Moh Jumhur Hidayat, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Priyono Wibowo, Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR)`s Commission IX Irgan Chairul Mahfiz, and a member of DPR`s Commission I Taufik Effendi, as well as officials from the ministries of manpower and people`s welfare.
BNP2TKI was responsible for arranging their return from the airport to their respective hometowns.
The 301 over-stayers were mostly Indonesian migrant workers and children. They were the first batch of overstayers repatriated from Saudi Arabia.
Initially, the first batch was to consit of 306 people but several children were sick and could only be repatriated in the second batch together with 260 other people who are expected to arrive also by Garuda Indonesia aircraft in Jakarta on Tuesday (Feb. 15).
Lutfi Rauf said it was the responsibility of the state to protect its people.
Jumhur, meanwhile, said that there were no more Indonesians staying illegally under the bridge of Khandara in Jidda.
Deputy Foreign Minister Priyono Wibowo said the Saudi Arabian government used to send up to 24,000 Indonesian over-stayers back to Jakarta annually but last year the number was cut significantly, forcing a lot of problematic Indonesian migrant workers to take refuge under the Khandara bridge in Jidda illegally.
"The government will review the procedures of migrant workers placement overseas to prevent similar problems in the future," he said.
(SYS/F001/S026)
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
