Navy ready to face Indonesian exodus from Sabah
Nunukan, E Kalimantan (ANTARA News) – The Indonesian Navy is ready to deploy warships to ferry Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) from Sabah, Malaysia, if an exodus takes place in connection with the conflict between Malaysia and the Philippines` Sulu Sultanate.
“The Navy is ready to deploy its ships now stationed in the Indonesian-Malaysian borders in Nunukan district, if an exodus of Indonesian workers from Sabah takes place,” Commodore Arie Soedewo, Indonesia`s eastern fleet maritime task force commander, said here on Wednesday.
However, he said, the latest conditions in Sabah have relatively returned to normal and did not affect Indonesian workers in the Malaysian state.
Although the conditions are now conducive, the Navy will remain alert to over the possibility of the worsening of the situation where the navy should take steps to safeguard the Indonesians who are going home.
He said that the Navy has placed six warships of various types with the latest weaponry system to guard the border areas.
The standoff between Malaysian security forces and armed Filipinos erupted in violence on March 1, killing two Malaysian police officers and 12 members of self-style Sulu Sultanate of the Philippines as Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak declared his patience had run out, Reuters reported last week.
The group, numbering about 180, say they are descendants of the sultanate of Sulu in the southern Philippines, which ruled parts of northern Borneo for centuries.
In the meantime, the Indonesian Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu stated on Monday the Malaysian government and Regional Management of Federal Land Development Agency (Felda) Sahabat are fulfilling the staple needs of Indonesian migrant workers taking shelters in the Malaysian state of Sabah.
The Malaysian logistics office and the company with which the Indonesians work have ensured their staple needs and therefore, there is nothing to worry about, said Indonesian Consul General for Sabah, Soepeno Sahid, in Kota Kinabalu.
According to him, Felda Sahabat will continue to pay the monthly salaries of 1,200 Indonesian migrant workers although they are not allowed to work following an armed conflict between Philippine followers of a self-proclaimed sultan and Malaysian security forces in Lahad Datu district.
“Although they are not allowed to work, the company has coordinated with the Indonesian Consulate General in Sabah to pay their monthly salaries,” Soepeno said.
He added that the Malaysian government and Felda also continue to provide the Indonesian migrant workers with other necessities, such as health care, medicines and clean water.
“The Malaysian government and Felda have given the assurance they will continue to fulfill their daily needs such as food, drink, clean water and health care,” said Soepeno.
The Indonesian Consulate General also keeps monitoring security conditions and coordinating with local security officers and the Malaysian government, he said.
“We keep monitoring the condition of the Indonesian migrant workers who are now taking shelters, particularly with regard to their daily needs, security assurance and salaries,” he said.
Source: http://www.antaranews.com/
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