133 Indonesians deported after overstaying, working illegally in Johor

133 Indonesians deported after overstaying, working illegally in Johor

BATAM: Tears and relief greeted 133 Indonesians at the Batam Centre Point International Ferry Terminal, here, after their deportation from Johor on Jan 28.

They had crossed the sea chasing the ringgit but returned home in chains — shackled not by iron, but by lost savings, unpaid debts and the abrupt end of years of hard work.

The group, comprising 101 men, 29 women and three children, left for home from the Stulang Laut Ferry Terminal in Johor Baru after serving their sentence at the Pekan Nanas immigration detention depot in Pontian for overstaying and working illegally.

They left largely without savings as they bore the cost of their return. Among them were 11 elderly deportees, including a man suffering from kidney stones.

The Indonesian consulate-general in Johor Baru facilitated the deportation.

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Consul-General Sigit S. Widiyanto said irregular migration continued to extract a heavy human cost that far outweighed any promised reward.

He said most had worked illegally across sectors, earning modest wages while living in constant fear of arrest.

“Their journey home is not with savings, but with temporary travel papers, police escorts and fractured futures.”

The deportees were largely from West Nusa Tenggara, East Java and North Sumatra — regions where poverty continues to push workers across borders.

They were transported by ferry to Batam, where Indonesia’s migrant placement authorities took over for their documentation before sending them back to their villages.

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For Siti, in her 50s, who waited for her daughter’s return, it was relief tempered by the ache of knowing years of sacrifice had been in vain.

Although her child was home, the savings meant to change their lives were gone.

Her 22-year-old daughter had worked in Johor for nearly three years. She was detained during an immigration raid at a factory where she had worked illegally.

Her daughter initially worked at a restaurant in Johor after making her way into Malaysia through personal contacts, including Siti’s acquaintances.

The daughter said she left the job at the restaurant as it was tiring and then found work at the factory.

Siti, who had previously worked in Malaysia as well, said the decision exposed the daughter to greater risk, especially during raids.

A vocational school graduate in computer studies, the young woman had applied for jobs in the public and private sectors in Karimun but received no response.

Siti said prospective employers often asked who could vouch for her daughter — a requirement their family could not meet. “We don’t have influential connections.”

Indonesian authorities said more than 6,000 Indonesians were deported from Malaysia over the past year, the highest figure in three years.