Indonesia Brings Home 216 Citizens from Malaysia's Immigration Detention Centers

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs repatriated 216 Indonesian citizens from 7 immigration detention centers in Malaysia on Monday, June 10, 2024. The citizens comprised mothers and children, pregnant women, the elderly, sick people, and those who have been detained for more than 6 months. 

The repatriation was carried out using commercial flights with two disembarkation points; Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Jakarta, and Kualanamu Airport, Medan.

According to the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the flights were divided into 5 groups, including the Jakarta debarkation with 3 groups and a total of 129 Indonesian citizens, and the Medan debarkation with 2 groups and 87 Indonesians. During this repatriation, as many as 14 sick Indonesian citizens needed outpatient care, while 19 were underage, and 8 were citizens aged over 60 years.

Several of the Indonesian citizens admitted that they had worked in Malaysia for decades and were returning to their homeland for the first time through government assistance. Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Hermono released the returning citizens at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. 

"This acceleration program is a realization of bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia for better protection of Indonesian citizens," said Ambassador Hermono, as quoted by Tempo on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. 

Furthermore, it was also emphasized that safe and regular migration patterns need to be prioritized as a preventive measure.

The return process ran smoothly and the Indonesian citizens were temporarily accommodated in several places provided by the government before being sent back to their respective hometowns.

KEMLU.GOV.ID

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