Several passengers who traveled from Batam to Tanjung Pengelih in Malaysia are suspected of being non-procedural Indonesian migrant workers. Authorities did not do much to stop them.
By
MEDIANA, PANDU WIYOGA
·5 minutes read
PASCHALIS UNTUK KOMPAS
Passenger activities on board the MV Allya Express from Batam, to Tanjung Pengalih, Malaysia, Tuesday (6/12/2022).
BATAM, KOMPAS — Since May 2022, at least 200 non-procedural Indonesian migrant workers departed on two ferries from the international ferry terminal in Batam, Riau Islands, to Tanjung Pengelih, Malaysia. Revelant port officials in Batam did not do much to prevent the migrant workers from leaving for Malaysia without following the established procedures.
The incident unfolded with a report from a migrant worker activist in Batam, R.D. Chrisanctus Paschalis, who boarded the MV Allama Express 3 ferry on Tuesday (6/12/2022). At that time, the ferry departed from the Batam Centre Point International Ferry Terminal to the Tanjung Pengelih Ferry Terminal with 140 prospective Indonesian migrant workers who did not have formal work documents.
They entered Malaysia only with their passports. In fact, Article 13 of Law No. 18/2017 on Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers mandates that prospective Indonesian migrant workers must have a work visa, work contract, and five other documents in addition to their passports.
"Immigration officers allowed Indonesian migrant workers who claimed to be tourists traveling to Malaysia on holiday. It is strange. The officers should know that tourists [generally] do not travel to Malaysia through Tanjung Pengelih," Paschalis said on Saturday (10/12).
Tanjung Pengelih is far from business centers on the Malay Peninsula. Traveling from Tanjung Pengelih to Johor Bahru takes around 1 hour by bus, and around 4 hours to Kuala Lumpur. Indonesian tourists traveling on holiday to Malaysia must enter through the Stulang Laut Ferry Terminal or the Pasir Gudang Ferry Terminal.
TIM KOMPAS
The MV Dolphin 5 ferry arrived at Batam Center International Ferry Port, Batam City, Riau Islands, Sunday (11/12/2022). The ship serves the route from Batam to the Port of Tanjung Pengalih, Malaysia.
Paschalis said that the undocumented migrant workers had passed immigration checks because the officers had coordinated with the syndicate that had sent them. The passenger manifest for the ferry to Tanjung Pengelih contained the migrant workers’ ticket numbers followed by the initials of the four perpetrators, OD, BCK, SY, and RS, that had smuggled them.
"Immigration officers have the passenger manifest. Once they see the [initials] behind a ticket number, they immediately stamp the [workers’] passports," Paschalis said.
Kompas traveled on Sunday (11/12) to Malaysia via the route Paschalis indicated. At that time, only nine people were traveling on the MV Dolphin 5 from Batam to Tanjung Pengelih. Five were Malaysian citizens.
In the departure room at the Batam Centre Point International Ferry Teriminal, SY, a passenger, said this was unusual, as the ferry to Tanjung Pengelih was usually crowded.
He then asked about the situation with a member of the MV Dolphin 5 crew.
"There is an inspection at immigration," the crew member said.
Arriving at the Tanjung Pengelih Ferry Terminal in Malaysia, EV, a passenger traveling to Batam, confirmed SY’s account. Ferries traveling from Batam to Tanjung Pengelih were never empty of passengers.
There is an inspection at immigration.
According to him, around 90 percent of passengers on the Allya and the Dolphin to Tanjung Pengelih were non-procedural migrant workers. EV added that two buses were always on standby in Tanjung Pengelih to transport hundreds of migrant workers to Kuala Lumpur.
On Thursday (12/15), one of the smugglers Kompas spoke to confirmed that non-procedural migrant workers had been using the Batam-Tanjung Pengelih ferry service since May 2022. He claimed that each non-procedural migrant worker paid a “deposit” of Rp 300,000, which was then distributed to immigration officers through intermediaries.
KOMPAS/PANDU WIYOGA
A number of migrant workers prepare to leave the immigration waiting room at Batam Center Port, Batam City, Riau Archipelago, Tuesday (24/3/2020).
Concerning
The head of the Ombudsman Representative for the Riau Islands, Lagat Siadari, said he had often heard reports that Batam Centre Point was being used to smuggle non-procedural migrant workers.
"It is possible that those who are involved are crooked officers from the port management, police, immigration, or the BP2MI," he said on Tuesday (12/13), referring to the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency.
The Batam Centre Point International Ferry Terminal is managed by PT Synergy Tharada, whose operations manager Nika Astaga declined on Tuesday (13/12) to answer any questions about the alleged smuggling of non-procedural Indonesian migrant workers from the Batam ferry terminal to Tanjung Pengelih.
Information and communication head Tessa Harumdila of the Batam Class I Immigration Office claimed on Thursday (12/15) that he was unaware about the ferries traveling from Batam Centre Point to Tanjung Pengelih.
"When I asked the head of inspection at Batam Centre [Point], he simply did not know about Pengelih," Tessa said.
Port Police head Adj. Comr. Awal Sya'ban Harahap said on Wednesday (14/12) that police officers had arrested four members of the so-called RS smuggling syndicate in early November 2022.
"If members of the Port Police are involved, just report it. I will take action," Awal said.
BP2MI services head Amingga Primastito said he had heard that the Batam Centre Point-Tanjung Pengelih ferry route was being used to smuggle non-procedural migrant workers.
"From [a passenger load] of 168 people, it could be that more than 100 passengers destined for Tanjung Pengelih are non-procedural migrant workers," Amingga said.
The Manpower Ministry’s Public Relations Bureau head, Chairul Fadhly Harahap, explained that the ministry was working with the relevant institutions to prevent the smuggling of non-procedural migrant workers.
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