Ali Maksum1 & Surwandono
Journal of Social Research & Policy, Volume: 8, Issue: 1, pp. 101-123 Date: July 2017 ISSN: 2067-2640 (print), 2068-9861 (electronic) Abstract: This article departs from the reality that many Indonesian workers have been sentenced to the court and charged under
the immigration act due to illegal work and overstay. Subsequently, Malaysian government, for instance, has made some
arrests and mass-deportation, while all illegal workers were prosecuted and sentenced before their deportation. In other
words, the illegal worker in Malaysia especially from Indonesia were arrested and treated as a criminal. Interestingly
International Organization for Migration (IOM) listed Malaysia as one of the dangerous places for migrant workers. In
contrast to this, Japan is one of the country with lowest risk of forced labour. This article urges readers to engage in a
reflection on the trend and dynamics of the Indonesian illegal workers in Malaysia and Japan, while the Indonesian
government incessantly take advantages from their large remittance. This is a qualitative research supplemented by
semi-structured interviews with some key respondents especially who have experiences and expertise on Indonesian
illegal workers. Systematically, the discussion of this article is divided into five sections, namely, history of Indonesian
migrant workers, Indonesian illegal workers in Malaysia, Indonesian illegal workers in Japan, the struggles and
conclusion. The gained empirical data revealed that Indonesian workers have their own perspectives and reasons
pertaining the illegal workers’ issues. |
Keywords: Indonesian; Illegal Workers; Exploitation; Contribution; Malaysia; Japan.
1 Postal Address: Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas
Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Jl. Lingkar Selatan, Tamantirto, Kasihan, Bantul, Yogyakarta Indonesia 55183. E-mail
Address: amaksum@gmail.com.
