An agreement was signed on 20 November between the governments of Malaysia and Indonesia fixing the fees for hiring Indonesian domestic workers at RM2,400 per person. Under the agreement, employment agencies in Malaysia could no longer seek higher fees from prospective employees. The pact is an extension of the bilateral agreement signed by Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad in Bali last May. There are currently some 380,000 Indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia.
Immigration officials in Papua province have launched a manhunt for seven Malaysian nationals who allegedly used fake documents to obtain work permits from the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry to work for a timber company in the Nabire district. Authorities named the Malaysians as Jawing Kam, Loh Ing Duong, Wong Huang Tieh, Lau Yew Kong, Ngan Tong Chung, Tiong Wei Chog and Teo Pen Leong.
Some 13 children from marriages between foreigner fathers and Indonesian mothers were granted Indonesian citizenship on 21 November. They were the first children to be granted dual citizenship following the passage of Indonesia’s citizenship law last July. Previously, children of international marriages automatically assumed the citizenship of their foreigner father. The current law, however, does not grant dual citizenship to children of international marriages if their fathers are Indonesians.
Dikdik Rahmanto, coordinator of the Urban Poor Against the Yustisia Operation (RMTOY), complained to the National Commission on Human Rights against the Jakarta Public Order Agency’s “unfair and arbitrary" crackdown on irregular migrants who stay on in the capital after Idul Fitri. According to Rahmanto the requirement that migrants should have a letter indicating that they have moved from their original residence, hold a permanent job and have accommodations in the city violate the individual’s constitutional right to settle in Jakarta for better wages. Meanwhile, some 1,172 unauthorized migrants to the capital were rounded up on 16 November from Jakarta’s five municipalities. They will be sent back to their respective hometowns
Sources: “Agency reported over crackdown," The Jakarta Post, 16 November 2006; Bernama, “Indonesia seeking seven Malaysians over fake papers," The Star, 18 November 2006; “Illegal migrants to be sent home," The Jakarta Post, 18 November 2006; Mohd Nasir Yusoff, Bernama, “Indonesian maids to cost RM2,400," 20 November 2006; Bernama, “RM2,400 fee for a maid," The Star, 21 November 2006