DEATH PENALTY ON INDONESIAN MIGRANT WORKERS IN MALAYSIA 2010 - 2013
24 The migration of Indonesian migrant workers to Malaysia was declined during the
War and also during the period of the confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia. However, it was increased again after the relationship between the
Indonesian government and Malaysian Kingdom normalized.
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Beside that, the migration of Indonesian Migrant Worker to Malaysia cannot be separated from the implementation of New Economic Policy NEP at
1971 – 1990. This policy has triggered the expansion of Industrial sector in
Malaysia, especially in manufacture sector, and then followed by the addition of the employment in trade sector, services, and government, who are majority
concentrated in urban areas.
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These developments were influenced to the structure of the migrant workers who came to Malaysia, which can be explained by two causes.
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First, the rapid development of manufacturing sector caused many young Malaysian moved to
the urban city to fill the jobs in the manufacturing and service sectors. The higher level of education of the Malaysian also triggered this situation, especially after
the implementation of New Economic Policy in 1970s. The higher level of education leading to increased expectations for work in the modern sector that
promises the higher wages. As a result, there was a shortage of labor in the
36
Ida Bagoes Mantra. Indonesian Labor Mobility to Malaysia A Case Study: East Flores, West Lombok, and The Island of Bawean, paper presented at the National Workshop on International
Migration at Yogyakarta, 9-11 March 1998, by the Population Studies Center, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia
37
Amalia Sustikartini, Dual Track Diplomacy Government-NGO: Solusi Alternatif Dalam Masalah Pelindungan TKI di Malaysia Depok: CERIC FISIP University of Indonesia, 2004,
downloaded on November 21, 2014 available at http:www.ceric-
fisip.ui.ac.idsitesdefaultfilescericresourcesAS-KajianIsuTKI.pdf
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Azizah Kassim, International Migration and Its Impact on Malaysia, on Confidence Building and Conflict Reduction, 11
th
ASPAC Roundtable, ASEAN-ISIS, 5-8 June 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
25 agricultural sector. If the Labor shortage problem not solved clearly, it would be
harmed to the Malaysian economic. Even though the manufacturing sector has grown rapidly and increases Malaysia foreign exchange reserves income, but the
agriculture sector is still the main sector in generating Malaysian foreign exchange.
Second, New Economic Policy also increases the chance of Malaysian Woman higher education to work in formal sector. The higher of opportunity for
career caused the needs of domestic servants are very large. However, the Malaysian woman who lack of formal education were more interested to work in
manufacturing sector because of the salary is more higher than working in domestic sector. In the end, there was a shortage of labor to be domestic servants.
These two causes above had made Malaysian Government opened opportunities to International workers came to Malaysia. Migrant workers from
Indonesia are largest than the other countries. In 1979, Malaysian Deputy Minister of Labor announced that the Indonesian migrant workers who work in Malaysia
totaled about 1.200.000 people.
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