INDONESIA CONCERNED OVER INFLUX OF EXPATRIATES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 6 (Antara) - Amid the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), goods and services, including manpower, are flowing within a 'borderless region' that will force member states to become more efficient and build their competitive edge.         Many quarters have expressed concern at the possible influx of expatriates to Indonesia which still has high unemployment levels reaching some seven million.         The influx of expatriates can come not only from within the AEC region but also from other countries such as China. After all, China is described by analysts as a country that has a political mission to control the asset of other countries through its migrant citizens across the world.         Chinese migrants control many countries with the post-colonialism spirit, such as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, apart from Indonesia, according to Hatta Taliwang, the director of the Soekarno-Hatta Institute.         The domination of Chinese migrants is successful in Singapore which was previously a Malay state. Malaysia is an example of a country which is able to protect itself from the domination of Chinese migrants.           Overseas Chinese migration is politically designed, according to Hatta. Therefore, China deliberately motivates its citizens to migrate to countries across the world for a greatest goal.         One of the easy ways for Chinese migrants to come to a country is through the manpower sector. Many cases have been revealed in Indonesia where many Chinese migrants had worked illegally in the country.         Therefore, the government has been urged to increase supervision of illegal expatriates and improve its manpower skills to face the stiff competition in the manpower sector so that the seven million unemployed local workers could get jobs.         The Ministry of Manpower should cooperate with workers and labor unions in supervising foreign workers, the All Indonesian Workers Organization (OPSI) has said. Supervision carried out by the ministry should be supported by all sides, including workers and their organizations.          "All manpower services at the provincial and district levels should support the supervision of expatriates," OPSI Secretary General Timboel Siregar said in Jakarta, July 21.          In order to increase supervision on foreign workers, the manpower ministry should provide a hotline as a means of conveying information on expatriates, particularly illegal workers, he said.         Timboel made the remarks when referring to a foreign loan deal with an agreement to allow the use of a foreign company, expatriates and materials from China for the development of a project.          The National Development Planning (Bappenas) and the Ministry of Finance should be responsible for the influx of expatriates, particularly from China, he said.           The influx of foreign workers in Indonesia poses a new threat to the country's sovereignty, an official from the defense ministry said, meanwhile.          "The threats to the sovereignty of a state could be in the form of a military threat or a non-military threat. The presence of foreign workers is a non-military threat," the head of the work environment sub-directorate of the state defense directorate of the Defense Ministry, Colonel Sudi Prihatin, said at a national seminar on the domino effect of the onslaught of foreign workers here Tuesday.              In the modern era, most of the threats to state sovereignty are non-military in nature, such as bird flu, drug trafficking and spurious vaccines, he noted.              The threats are aimed at fooling the people of the country and to consequently hamper its development, he warned.              Commenting on the inflow of foreign workers in Indonesia, Sudi explained that the country cannot refuse them entry because they are part of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).            President of the Indonesian Labor Union (ASPEK) Mirah Sumirat said expatriates are a threat to Indonesian job seekers in the country.           "Foreign workers are like a monster ready to kick us out," Mirah said at a seminar on 'Domino effects of foreign workers' invasion' held in Jakarta on August 2.           Many observers have expressed concerns with the agreement under the ASEAN Economic Community giving freedom for people from member countries to find jobs in any of the countries.           The threat confronts not only the present but also the future generations that need jobs, Mirah said. The struggle and aspirations of the labor unions are not directed against the government, but what they have done was only part of social criticism.          "There is fear among the workers that they might lose their jobs with foreign workers free to find jobs in Indonesia," Mirah said.           However, Indonesia could not do much in preventing the flow of expatriates in the AEC era, except when they are working illegally.         Therefore, the manpower ministry will directly repatriate or deport any illegal foreign workers or those who violate Indonesian labor regulations, Minister of Manpower M Hanif Dhakiri had said last month.          "If the public knows anything about them (illegal workers), please report to us and we will immediately deport them. These illegal foreign workers would be directly deported from Indonesia if the government finds out about their existence," Dhakiri had said.***4*** (A014/INE/o001)Edited by INE(T.A014/B/BESSR/O. Tamindael) 06-08-2016 15:25:3