TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said today during a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi that Malaysia was committed to providing the children of Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) with worthy education, especially in the region of Sabah, Malaysia.
Malaysia’s largest spread of Indonesian migrant workers is in the area of Semenanjung with 1.5 million TKIs, followed by Sabah with 500,000 and Sarawak with 300,000—including the illegal ones.
Read: Meeting with Mahathir Mohamad, Jokowi Touches on TKI Protection
“There were talks about the protection provided for Indonesian citizens in Malaysia, one factor that was discussed was to add the number of community learning centers (CLC), kindergarten facilities for migrant children in Sabah. We appreciate this since it is in line with the Malaysian government’s vision that has prioritized education and is open to welcome children of Indonesian migrant workers,” said Minister Retno.
To the end of 2018, there are 36 CLCs in Sarawak. However, Indonesia aims at establishing 50 CLCs in Sarawak to accommodate the need for education for TKI children in plantation areas.
The meeting also discussed the Indonesian government’s request to be officially notified whenever an Indonesian citizen is involved in legal issues in Malaysia. The number of illegal TKIs detained by Malaysia’s immigration authorities (JIM) from January 1-May 24, 2018 amounts to 6,315.
SUCI SEKARWATI
