M. Raihan Muzzaki, Jakarta – Chairperson of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) Hariyanto Suwarno estimated that 50 percent of Indonesian migrant workers use illegal routes to work in Malaysia.

"If the Ministry of Foreign Affairs data is 2.5 million, and then the data from the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI) at that time was 900,000, the rest from 900,000 to 2 million has already been confirmed as unprocedural," said Hariyanto to Tempo via messaging application on Sunday, February 2, 2025.

According to him, this illegal route has long been used by mafias as a business. Hariyanto said that each mafia could profit up to Rp15 million. They promise workers to work without using official documents, including working in Malaysia.

"This is a lucrative business; we can calculate that for one person, the promise to work without documents in Malaysia is around Rp10 to 15 million. How many departures are there every day?" he said.

Hariyanto said this illegal practice had occurred in the Tanjung Balai area, North Sumatra. At that time, he said, each worker was asked to pay Rp15 million to work in Malaysia.

"If the candidate and the brokers are relatively there, they benefit from it. From what I saw last in Tanjung Balai, they paid around 15 million," said Hariyanto.

He urged the government to eradicate the illegal business of sending migrant workers overseas using improper channels. The aim is for Indonesian citizens to go through proper or legal channels for the safety of migrant workers.

"The key is this dirty placement business, there are mafias there, there are individuals there that need to be eradicated, related to mafias and individuals down to their roots," he said.

According to him, too many Indonesian migrant workers have used illegal routes, leading to deaths. Hariyanto said this could happen because the legal mechanism for working abroad is too complicated and expensive.

"I think if that (illegal Indonesian migrant workers business) is eradicated, then Indonesian citizens will have no choice but to depart procedurally," said Hariyanto.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1970947/50-of-indonesian-migrant-workers-in-malaysia-use-illegal-routes-sbm