TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Malaysian Government on January 11 and 12 deported 726 troubled Indonesian workers.

“As many as 726 Indonesians were arrested in crackdowns on irregular migrants [PATI] and had served punishment in various regions in the Malayan Peninsula,” an official of Indonesian Consulate General in Johor Bahru, Dewi Lestari, said yesterday in Kuala Lumpur, as quoted by the news agency Antara.

Dewi said that most of them made violations of overstaying, illegal entry and failing to secure work permits. “They hailed from various regions in Indonesia, including hailed Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, Lampung, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, West Kalimantan, Southeast Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Nusa Tenggara," Dewi said.

KJRI Johor Bahru has identified and verified their nationality. It has also prepared documentations for them. They will be sent back home by ferry boats from Johor to Tanjung Pinang, the Riau Islands. The deportation would be the first of its kind this year.

ANTARA