The number was very small compared to the fact that about 600,000 Indonesians are estimated to have worked in Sabah, M Sapri, the head of the East Kalimantan Agency for Migrant Worker Service, Placement and Protection (BP3KI), said here on Monday.
Most of the Indonesians working in Sabah are holding passports issued by the Indonesian representative offices in Sabah, he said.
Meanwhile, those having the migrant workers` ID cards from Nunukan are they who have had their passports issued in Indonesia, before leaving for Malaysia.
"The problem is, most of the workers in Sabah have received their passports from our representative offices there," he explained.
The East Kalimantan BP3TKI has discussed the need for Indonesian workers to have their special ID cards with Indonesian representatives offices in Malaysia, particularly the Indonesian consulates in Tawau and Kinabalu.
Referring to the ongoing conflict between the Malaysian security forces and an armed Filipino group in Sabah, he said it is difficult to return Indonesian workers to Nunukan because their Malaysian employers do not give them permission to leave Sabah.
(Uu.F001/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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