VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Feb. 18 - Malaysia deported another 160 Indonesian migrant workers through the Entikong integrated border checkpoint in Sanggau District, West Kalimantan Province, on Thursday.

"Today, the Malaysian government deported 160 Indonesian migrant workers comprising 77 from West Kalimantan and 83 from outside West Kalimantan," Chief of the Protection and Empowerment Section of the Migrant Workers Placement, Protection, and Monitoring Agency (BP3TKI) in Pontianak, Andi Kusuma Irfandi, stated on Tuesday.

The migrant workers were deported to Indonesia over their involvement in various cases, he remarked.

"The workers were deported because they had problems. Some of them had immigration problems because they have no permits or passports, while others violated the law through acts including consuming drugs, getting involved in brawls, and violating the Recovery Movement Control Order (PKPP) or commonly known as large-scale social restriction (PSBB) in handling the COVID-19 pandemic," he noted.

Irfandi remarked that 87 of the 160 Indonesian migrant workers had no passports, 56 had no permits, two were involved in online gambling, six consumed drugs, two violated Recovery Movement Control Order, three lived with their parents, and four were involved in other crimes.

The migrant workers comprised 131 men and 29 women, he stated.

"The migrant workers hailing from outside West Kalimantan will soon be returned to their hometowns with adherence to the health protocols," he remarked. (Antaranews)