Nezar Patria, Kuala Lumpur – A wooden boat stealthily approached a beach near Port Klang in Malaysia at the end of last February. As night descended upon the quiet coastline, the thin fog and the light drizzle seemed to be offering a reassuring sense of peace and security to Hamdun (not his real name).
Hamdun, 41, had come from a village in Bireun, North Aceh. The man with a dark complexion then slowly made his way from the stern to a deck below. Crammed into the belly of the vessel-locally known as pong-pong-were 20 men. They had been there for almost two nights.
They were Acehnese refugees. They had sailed from Tanjung Balai in North Sumatra crossing the Strait of Malacca with one destination in mind: Malaysia. "We will all die if we continue to live in our villages," Hamdun recounted his plight to Tempo. These refugees were one of the groups in the wave of refugees fleeing Aceh since martial law and a military offensive was launched to fight the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) nine months ago.
Hamdun, who used to work in a motorcycle repair shop, is not a member of GAM. He fled from his village because he had been unable to acquire the Red and White Identity Card specially issued to Acehnese residents by the martial law administrator. The reason was simple. He was away seeking his livelihood in Medan when Aceh was declared to be a military emergency area. When he returned, he was not registered as a resident of his village. "In fact, I was suspected as [a member of] GAM," Hamdun said. Also he had to report regularly to the local TNI post whenever there was a military raid or security check. So, Hamdun later decided to flee from this unpleasant ordeal.
He paid 800,000 rupiah to a tekong, a boat skipper, in Tanjung Balai for passage to Malaysia. Sailing with him in the 12-meter-long boat were 20 other Acehnese. All shared the same plight. In their respective villages they had been hunted down and suspected of being separatist rebels. Hamdun said the trip was really nerve wrecking. After sailing for one whole night they left Indonesian waters only to be trailed by a Malaysian naval patrol boat. "We hid in the belly of the boat," Hamdun said. Fortunately, they eventually landed safely at a beach in Port Klang.
His ordeal, however, did not automatically end after stepping onto Malaysian soil. Without a passport and other official papers, he had now become an illegal immigrant. Coming by "rot likot" (Acehnese for "back way"), as the refugees term their illegal entry, Hamdun had to deal with the Malaysian Police.
"I am waiting for the Surat Aceh [Aceh document]," he said. Surat Aceh is the term coined by the Acehnese refugees to describe the document issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kuala Lumpur. The UNHCR document provides protection to the refugees granting them a temporary stay status.
At present thousands of people like Hamdun are found throughout Malaysia.
Under the UNHCR auspices, they are allowed to remain temporarily in Malaysia while Aceh remains under the emergency military status. However, the UNHCR is not able to provide for the needs of all the refugees. In order to survive they have to look for work in various fields of employment.
Many Acehnese are now involved in various professions as can be seen along Jalan Cow Kit and the Bukit Bintang business district in Kuala Lumpur. Not all of them are refugees. Some had actually settled and sought a livelihood in Malaysia. They work as managers, retailers or food stall owners. To these fortunate people usually the Acehnese refugees would turn to for support. "We help them by giving them jobs," said Razali a restaurant owner in Bukit Bintang.
But not all of the refugees could be absorbed in the business centers. Most of them work as laborers. Before they are employed, fellow refugees who already had jobs usually supported them. A strong esprit de corps prevails among these refugees. "Usually we depend on support of friends in the first month of living in Malaysia," said Syahrial, 35, who hails from Glumpang Minyeuk, Pidie.
He has been in Malaysia for eight months and works as a construction worker in the hilly area of Limau Manis, Putrajaya, some 30 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur.
With the presence of some 4,000 Acehnese workers, Limau Manis has become an area with the largest number of Acehnese workers in Kuala Lumpur.
According to Syahrial, Acehnese workers can also be found in new suburbs around Kuala Lumpur including Cyberjaya, Srimuda, Paya Jirah, Sungai Buloh, and other areas in the state of Selangor. As a construction worker, Syahrial earns between RM30 to RM40 a day.
The community of Acehnese in Limau Manis leads a modest lifestyle living in makeshift quarters. Regular living quarters provided by construction companies in the Putrajaya area are inadequate to house all the workers and the refugees.
The construction site in the semi-forested area of Limau Manis now looks more like an Acehnese hamlet. Makeshift huts have been built at the edge of the forest and Acehnese coffee and eateries have sprung up in the area. The Acehnese community here still continue to converse in Acehnese with a thick Malaysian accent. A number of elevated small roofed wooden structures used as resting places and for performing the five daily prayers-known as rangkang in Acehnese-have also been built. All these are makeshift structures using tree trunks as supporting beams and tarpaulin as roofing material. "You are not allowed to erect permanent buildings in the area," Syahrial explained.
Hasan Ali, an Acehnese worker in Limau Manis, said the Malaysian government does not allow migrant workers to erect buildings. Those seeking accommodation in homes would have to rent them from the local people living in the surrounding area. "To rent a house that can be turned into an eatery, a person would have to pay rent of RM400 a month," said Mali who hails from Idi, East Aceh and runs an eatery there. He has been in the area for more than a year.
Mali left his village in Aceh last May when the peace talks bogged down.
However, Bukit Limau cannot be said to be an entirely peaceful area. The police have continued to monitor activities going on in the area. According to Hasan Mali, security apparatus raided the area last September and arrested around 200 Acehnese who were taken into custody at a local police station.
Those who escaped the raid hid in the surrounding forests. Hasan said many refugees who never suspected there would be a raid suffered trauma from this incident. "We were rounded up just like people suffering from leprosy," Hasan remarked.
The police have become a frightening scourge to Acehnese refugees, especially to those who have no formal documents. Refugees who are rounded up are arrested and then held in custody at the Lenggeng camp in Negeri Sembilan or the Semenyih camp in Selangor. "Sometimes they can escape arrest by bribing their way through," Syahrial said. Yet this illegal practice depends a great deal on the mentality of the security personnel involved. At times, they refuse to accept money. "In such circumstances, arrested refugees can only expect hell."
Hell? Hell being the most frightful penalty: sent back to Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The Acehnese refugees in Malaysia will do anything as long as they are not repatriated home to their villages in Aceh. In the current conflict situation in Aceh, arriving home with no clear identity could spell dire consequences. "TNI are suspicious of those coming home from Malaysia," said Gani Rahman, speaking under a false name. The 34-year-old Acehnese refugee from Matang Glumpang Dua has been working in Limau Manis for the past six months.
Not all the arrested Acehnese refugees are sent back home to Aceh. In this regard Gani had a unique experience. He was once arrested by the police and repatriated to Tanjung Balai. He was not repatriated to Aceh because he has a passport. He was just charged with breaking the law and immigration authorities confiscated his passport. Eventually he found himself free and after living in Medan for a short period of time he made up his mind. "I set out to look for a pong-pong and return to Malaysia" Gani said.