Indonesia’s Migrant Authority Seeks To Go Home

JAKARTA : The head of Indonesia’s migrant worker authority says he is seeking to repatriate as many as 1.8 million Indonesians who are stuck abroad without work permits, The Jakarta Globe reported.

Nusron Wahid, the head of the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers, commonly known as BNP2TKI, said related expenses would be covered using the state budget, although he did not elaborate how much it was likely cost.

“There will be a discussion on bringing back 1.8 million illegal migrant workers who do not have a work contract, and we will use the state budget to do it,” Nusron said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He added the discussion would involve several ministries and cover technical details of the planned repatriation, including legal issues in countries where the undocumented Indonesians worked.

Nusron said a total of 6.2 million Indonesians were working overseas, consisting of nearly 4.4 million documented workers in addition to the undocumented ones.

The International Labor Organization, though, estimates that the number of Indonesians working overseas is at least double the documented figure.

The former lawmaker said most of those without work permits were currently employed in Malaysia, amounting to some 1.2 million workers — most of whom worked for the construction sector or on palm oil plantations. 

The rest are scattered in the Middle East, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Thirty-nine Indonesian domestic workers are on death row in Saudi Arabia.

Cops Nab Suspected Militant At KLIA

KUALA LUMPUR : Just as the hostage crisis in Australia ended, Malaysian police on Wednesday arrested a 30-year-old former National Service trainer linked to the Islamic State terror group, according to The Star Online.

Sources revealed that the man, who hailed from Terengganu, was tasked by a local militant group to open a new safe passage for Malaysian fighters to head to Syria.

“The authorities believe that this suspect wanted to use one of the countries in South-East Asia as a transit point for Malaysian militants before going to Syria.

This move is seen as a new way to evade detection given a spate of arrests of militants this year,” a source said.

After careful surveillance, Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division personnel were waiting at KL International Airport for the suspect and detained him at about 5.30am yesterday.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the suspect had planned to board a plane to Turkey.  “The suspect then intended to book a passage to Syria from Turkey. We believe he was on his way to join the IS terror group,” he said.

Commending Counter Terrorism personnel for their success, the IGP said Bukit Aman would always remain vigilant against any possible threat to the country

Koh Tao suspects innocent, says govt investigation Team

MYANMAR : A team formed by the Myanmar government to investigate the Koh Tao case has announced that it is confident the two Burmese nationals accused of the double murder are innocent of the crime, The Irrawaddy reported.

 

Three members of a special support team operating out of the Myanmar embassy in Thailand told a press conference on Thursday that Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 21, would be exonerated of the September murder of British tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in Koh Tao, but it will take time, money and effort for the truth to be fully revealed.

“However the Thai judiciary decides on the case, it is our belief that these two kids did not commit the crime,” said Htoo Chit, a spokesman for the investigation. “According to what we know and eyewitness information we have gathered, we believe they are innocent.”

As a longtime migrant rights activist and executive director of the Foundation for Education and Development, Htoo Chit said that the case against the pair had important ramifications for migrant workers in Thailand from across the region.

“This case is not only about Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun,” he said. “This is also about protecting the rights of millions of migrants from Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar who came to work in Thailand due to economic hardship.”

Aung Myo Thant, a lawyer who is part of the embassy’s special support team for the defendants, told the press conference that the translator used during the police interrogation of the suspects falsely claimed to be a representative of the embassy, and told the suspects that they would be subject to a lighter penalty if they admitted their guilt.

Senior Metropolitan Police Officers Facing Charges On Street LED Ads

BANGKOK : More than 70 senior metropolitan police officers are facing questioning after they were accused of allowing private companies to install LED advertising boards on state property with no authorisation and reap  earnings for personal gains.

 

Certain members of the metropolitan police force are facing possible criminal charges for allowing advertising signs to be set-up onto traffic police booths at intersections.

According to  Metropolitan Police Bureau commissioner Pol  Lt-Gen  Srivara Ramsibrahmakul, Commissioner, such offences are punishable crimes and disciplinary committees have been established to investigate any officers implicated in this latest scandal.

Another investigation is being launched against police officers for allowing companies to set-up large LED screens at intersections atop police booths for advertising purposes.

The commissioner said some of these LED screens have been up and running for at least two years now and any officers implicated in authorising them may be charged with criminal offence.

He made clear that such acts are deemed as attempts to earn income through unauthorized means and has ordered each police division   to set up disciplinary committees to investigate these offences within each district.

Anyone found guilty of accepting payment for setting these LED screens up will be charged with criminal offences as authorization of such elements needs to officially obtained from the Metropolitan Police Bureau.

He said the correct procedures for setting up any commercial screens or public signage requires authorization from the Treasury Department as well as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

Advertising companies have been making substantial income from setting up LED screens for commercial purposes from what is considered state properties for years now without obtaining any official licensing and are not even in line with city regulations.

According to the National Anti Corruption Commission (NACC), this is in offence of Article  157 of the Criminal Act which describes this as misuse and/or misconduct of authority of a civil servant.

 This crime is also chargeable under the Anti Corruption Act’s Article 123 where civil servants are prohibited from reaping inappropriate rewards/benefits for personal gain,

“It is absolutely against the law to reap personal benefits from state property and public property. 

This is considered a form of corruption, the commissioner stated.

Although the disciplinary investigation is still being finalized, it is estimated that about 70 high ranking officers from the Superintendent level upward have been implicated in these corruption charges. 

Some of the charges that are being brought against officers include gross negligence for allowing over 40 LED screens in districts that include Huay Kwang, Dindaeng, Thonglor, Phayathai and Tharua. 

The investigation has revealed that advertising companies approached these precincts directly offering revenue between 5,000 baht to 10,000 baht per month for each screen.

The commissioner added that the investigation was launched as far back as two months ago and that the objective of this current initiative was not to target or move any officers in particular.

He also denied accusations that the investigation was to replace offenders with his own people.

White House Views Attack As Security Issue

WASHINGTON: -- A cyber attack on Sony Pictures that forced the cancellation of a major film release is being seen as a serious national security matter, the US says.

A White House spokesman said the US believed the hacking was the work of a "sophisticated actor" - but refused to confirm if North Korea was responsible.

Sony withdrew The Interview, a new comedy film about North Korea's leader, after threats from hackers.

Hackers have already released sensitive information stored on Sony computers.

They later issued a warning to members of the public planning to see The Interview.

Referring to the 11 September 2001 terror attacks, they said "the world will be full of fear" if the film was screened.

Many cinemas scrapped plans to show the film, and Sony then cancelled the release of the film altogether - moves criticised in Hollywood as an attack on the freedom of expression.

Chinese Passenger Opens Emergency Exit 'To Get Some Fresh Air

HONG KONG:  An airline passenger on board an internal flight in China sparked a safety scare by yanking open an emergency exit just before a plane was due to take off to "get some fresh air", according to reports.

The passenger, on board the Xiamen Air flight from Hangzhou to Chengdu, caused amazed fellow travellers to take a series of snaps on their mobile phones, which were later posted on social media.

The airline’s maintenance team rushed to fix the safety door and the flight took off on time, Hangzhou airport staff told the Southern Metropolis Daily.

Passengers' photos showed the middle-aged man wearing a blue hooded coat - a first-time flier - poke his head out of the open door, as a stewaress looked on.

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“It’s my first time seeing a passenger open the safety door,” one photo circulated online was captioned. “He told the attendants he just wanted some fresh air … hope our flight won’t be delayed for too long.”

Sunday’s flight saga triggered heated debate on social media, with many microbloggers saying the man should have been fined for posing a safety risk to other passengers.

But the airline said it did not plan to penalise the passenger as he had not meant any harm.

“It was his first travel by air,” an airline staff member told the paper. “He did not cause delay or any other direct loss to the airline.

Thailand A Hub For Drugs In Asean: Paiboon

BANGKOK: -- THAILAND is the Asean hub for illicit drugs with 1.3 million drug addicts, said Justice Minister General Paiboon Kumchaya.

Presiding over yesterday's launch of a project to force addicts into drug rehabilitation programme, Paiboon said the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) and police reported that 2 per cent of the population were addicts.

He said 250,000 of them had been jailed, while about 1 million had not sought rehabilitation. The youngest addict was seven years old.

The general said that as most addicts returned to their habit after attending rehabilitation programmes, he had instructed the ONCB and ministry officials to formulate a rehabilitation system that clearly separated general addicts from inmate addicts, had clear methods and good follow-up activities.

He said drug-related laws would be used to ensure related agencies were on the same page when tackling the problem.

Since the rehabilitation programme did not guarantee success, the ministry would provide clear training guidelines people such as drill instructors, as sometimes up to 70 per cent of conscripts were addicts.

He said the programme would set an attainable goal to make at least 10 per cent of addicts sober.

"The world also agrees that imprisonment is not the answer to convince drug convicts to give up the habit," he said.

"Some 200,000 drug inmates were not major dealers but drug-ring workers."

Paiboon said he would also arrange for a yearly evaluation on how many big-fish dealers had been caught and how much the ONCB had succeeded in striking at the heart of drug-trafficking organisations.

The arrests of drug-ring workers will not be counted, he said.

Meanwhile, seven tonnes of illicit drugs worth about Bt6.565 billion was burned yesterday as part of the country's 44th official illicit-drug incineration ceremony in Ayutthaya's Bang Pa-in Industrial Estate.

The drugs - seized from 1,059 cases - included 19 million yaba pills worth Bt5.8 billion and 318 kilograms of "ice".

They were destroyed via the environmentally friendly pyrolytic incineration method, which burned the drugs at a temperature of over 850 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, in the North, the Provincial Police Region 5 yesterday announced the seizure of 1.2 million yaba pills and 30 kilograms of "ice".

The drugs were found in an abandoned car at Chiang Rai's Mae Sai Hospital parking lot.

The car's owner was identified as Natchanant Mahatthanasitthichok - believed to be a member of drug ring that was allegedly run by Lt-Colonel Yi Se - and has reportedly fled to Myanmar.

In related news, Provincial Police Region 8 yesterday announced the arrest of four members of a drug ring in Surat Thani's Phunphin district along with 13,000 yaba pills, 85 grams of "ice", a shot gun with ammunition, Bt400,000 and three cars.

The three men and one woman reportedly confessed that a Klong Prem inmate had ordered them to distribute the drugs in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani.