Migrant Workers to be Tighten

Cilacap (Antara Bali) - The Indonesian government will tighten the dispatch of migrant workers to other countries as part of efforts to protect them, stated Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar.

"We must tighten the dispatch of migrant workers. Illegal immigration must not be allowed. Don't seek employment abroad on the pretext of performing Umrah (minor Hajj) as that will pose a problem in the future," he stated here, on Thursday.

The minister was in Cilacap, Central Java, to brief would-be migrant workers on the slogan "Don't Depart Before Being Ready" at Plikon hamlet.

Through the slogan, he expressed hope that all Indonesian migrant workers will be employed only through formal procedures.

He said the government had repatriated about 10 thousand Indonesians who had overstayed their visas in Saudi Arabia.

"We have repatriated particularly those who are vulnerable, such as old persons and children," he explained. (*/DWA)