Indonesians go to end of queue in crackdown by Mahathir

EARLIER THIS YEAR Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was cruising through Putrajaya, the country's administrative centre, with his usual police escort. As the veteran leader tells it, when many of the passers-by saw his motorcade they jumped into undergrowth in a desperate bid to get out of sight. Even for a politician who sometimes seems to care little for the favour of others, Dr Mahathir was understandably perturbed by the reaction that he appeared to be provoking. Then he realised that all those taking to their heels were probably illegal immigrants who had spotted the police and wanted to make themselves scarce. 'The moment they saw the police car, they bolted into nearby bushes. Even some of the workers in Putrajaya are illegals,' Dr Mahathir recalled to reporters. The anecdote was recounted late last month as Malaysia has struggled to grapple with the huge tide of immigrants - legal and illegal - who have flocked to the country in search of employment in recent years. Authorities are now targeting Indonesians, who form the largest community of non-Malaysians at work in the country's plantations, construction sites and mines. Drastic action is touted. Officials say that they want to cut by half the number of those from the neighbouring giant who make up about 70 per cent of the 770,000 registered foreign nationals. At the same time, police and marine patrols have been stepped up to intercept Indonesians still attempting to sneak in without the proper paperwork. In Selangor, the country's most heavily industrialised state, officials have reportedly been ordered to bulldoze squatter settlements and rip down food stalls. It is, in short, the biggest shake-up for Malaysia's polyglot workforce in years. The spark for the crackdown came after a proliferation of violent outbreaks involving Indonesian workers. Last December, more than a thousand illegals at a detention centre in Johore state went on a rampage and burned down some of the complex. Last month, 450 Indonesian textile workers wrecked their hostel in Nilai when officials tried to conduct a drugs test. Just days later a few dozen Indonesian construction workers wielding long knives wrecked cars and food stalls in Cyberjaya, the hi-tech centre just a few miles from Dr Mahathir's office. Enough, it seemed, was enough. As the Malaysian press stoked up popular anger over the incidents - 'if unchecked they may ultimately scare away our investors', said one report - politicians led by Dr Mahathir promised action. 'Indonesian workers have been giving us many problems: sneaking into the country, when caught they become violent. We will not accept such behaviour,' the Prime Minister said, adding: 'Please go back to your own country if you want to cause trouble.' The reasons behind the presence of so many Indonesians in Malaysia are obvious enough. Desperate to escape the chaos, poverty and lack of opportunities at home, neighbouring and very much richer Malaysia makes for a convenient port of call. At about US$4,000, per capita incomes in Malaysia are more than four times those in Indonesia. Moreover, given the centuries of contact between the two territories, the long land and sea borders, the common language and religion, blending into Malaysia is relatively easy for Indonesians. Stung by the events, Kuala Lumpur has formulated a 'Indonesians last' policy. Most significantly, employers have been asked to halve the number of Indonesians on their books, although existing workers may see out their contracts and there will be some leniency for export-orientated firms. In their place, officials have said that despite potential language difficulties, they want more Thais, Burmese, Laotians, Vietnamese and Filipinos. Some have said they would consider applicants from as afar afield as Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. The reaction from the Government in Jakarta has combined apologies with words of caution, even complaint. They know that with the pressing economic problems at home, including high unemployment, the outflow of labour to Malaysia serves the larger country well. Remittances are helpful too. After the unrest, Jakarta ministers said that they were sorry for the fracas but saw no reason why the majority of law-abiding emigrant workers should be punished for the deeds of an unruly few. In a comment typical of many, Manpower Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea said: 'The decision is unfair because only some out of the hundreds of thousands of people did the mistakes.' Ominously he added that a clampdown on legal workers would spark more to try illegally. 'It will be more difficult to control,' he said. If so, the Malaysian authorities are going to have an even tougher time ahead.