Pemutihan of illegal workers? Are we doing the right thing?

It was reported that an Indonesian maid, Ruyati was sentenced to death by beheading in Mecca after confessing to a murder on Saturday, June 18, 2011 . The irony is that no prior notification to the government of Indonesia was given by the Saudi. The body was buried immediately without even notifying Ruyati's family.

Many Indonesians were quick to protest, and even threatened Malaysian tourist for petty issues such as the 'Pendet' dance or Rasa Sayang folk song. Some madmen are even declaring war against Malaysia on overlapping territorial dispute over the Ambalat Sea or on the case of Malaysian fishermen charged with encroaching into the republic’s water.

All this periodic diplomatic spats that range from culture and forest fires to territorial disputes and the treatment of maids culminates when a group of demonstrators threw human faeces at Malaysia’s embassy in Jakarta in August.

Indonesian animosity towards Malaysia has risen to a new level.

Why the deafening silence when Ruyati was beheaded by the Saudis without even giving his family the basic human courtesy?

Why are there no demonstrations in front of the Saudi Embassy in Jakarta?

Why are the Saudi tourist (most are looking for short term marriage in Bogor) are not even threatened in Jakarta?

The simple truth is Indonesian are 'afraid' of the Saudis.

Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia contribute billions of foreign currency to Indonesia. Indonesian migrant workers remit more than US 7 billion each year into the country. This hard currency lubricates the economy and Indonesian will not react harshly to offend the Saudis.

The Saudis are hard against illegal migrant workers. Long term jail and tortures are common for illegal workers caught and basic human rights are the least of the Saudi's concern. They have to do hard labour to earn their flight ticket back home when released.

What do we do with our illegal workers?

We treat them nicely, and send them back for free but in a few days later they just hop in back again. Periodically the government grant the illegal workers amnesty (pemutihan), with this July 2011 the next one.

Why are we being so nice to the illegal immigrants. The Malaysian government has not made any serious effort to deport illegal migrants nor tackle this thorny issue. Are we going to automatically grant amnesty to robbers, rapist and petty thieves too? The US Government included Malaysia as one of the worst offenders of human trafficking in their blacklist of governments it believes are not doing enough to stop it in their "Trafficking in Persons" report.

Our borders are so porous that illegal immigrants, especially Indonesians can just sneak in and out with ease. They roam our country freely without any concern of Police or Immigration checks.

When was the last time you were stopped at Police or Immigration checkpoints?

Against this background, it is crucial that the first lines of defence, Malaysian borders, are as secure as possible. No point of having the latest biometric fingerprints system at the border checkpoints but leave our border coast line porous.

We are not doing enough to protect ourselves by keeping illegal immigrants and criminals within our borders.

Will the next government tackle this paramount issue first.