2,509 Indonesians Deported from Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur (Antara) - A total of 2,509 Indonesians have been deported from Malaysia in the past two months as they were either illegal immigrants detained by the immigration officials or were involved in criminal cases. According to the Indonesian Embassy here on Tuesday, of the total number of Indonesians detained, there were 1,759 men, 701 women, 17 boys, and 17 girls. "They were deported to Indonesia through Pasir Gudang, Johor, to Tanjung Pinang in the Riau Islands province," Embassy Consular Coordinator Dino Nurwahyudin informed the newsmen. Every week, the Malaysian government deports Indonesian illegal immigrants, who are known locally by the abbreviation PATI, for failing to present stay and work permits. The Malaysian government has been conducting operations against PATIs and the operations will continue till its target to deport all the illegal immigrants in that country is achieved. In 2013, the Malaysian government deported around 19 thousand illegal immigrants from Indonesia. The immigration operation is part of the ongoing legalization program for foreign workers. A total of 348 thousand Indonesian workers have joined the program and 201 thousand of them have been legalized, while around 120 thousand others failed to present work permits. (*)