REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MADIUN -- The Madiun Immigration Office has deported two Chinese for misusing their stay permit as tourists by working for an electronic distributor in this East Java city.  Head of the Madiun Immigration Office Sigit Roesdianto said the two Chinese Xiangxin Wei (27) and Yiquan Liang (29) had violated the immigration regulation. 

They have only visa for travel and failed to report to the Immigration Office, Sigit said here on Saturday.  They have been sent back to their country via the Juanda airport of Surabaya.

Data at the Madiun Immigration Office showed that in the past two months the immigration authorities have deported four Chinese for misusing their visa to work in the country. The government policy of visa free travel or visa on arrival to visitors from around 170 countries has been blamed for the many illegal foreign workers mainly from China.

There are growing calls for the cancellation of the policy, amid widespread rumors that more than 10 million Chinese have worked in Indonesia when the country is struggling to reduce unemployment.  Law and Human Right Minister Yasonna Laoly dismissed as hoax the unconfirmed reports, saying, the visa free travel policy is to boost the country's tourism industry. "It is an irony that as big country as Indonesia rich with tourist destinations is far lagging behind smaller Malaysia in number of tourists," Yasonna said.

He said what is important in the implementation of the policy is good control. "If there are 9 million arrivals, there should be 9 million departures. That is what we need to make sure," he said.

He said the Communications and Informatics Ministry already knows who spread the rumors. "That is a hoax. We have too many hoaxes now. I would like to challenge you to show me data about 10 million foreign workers here, even 1 million illegal workers," he said.

He said based on data at the Labor Ministry there are 21,000 foreign workers from China holding the temporary stay license in Indonesia. Earlier President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) shrugged off when asked to comment on the rumors, saying "where did they get the number."

Also read: President Jokowi denies Indonesia is flooded by Chinese workers

The president said it is almost unlikely that Hong Kong Chinese would want to work in Indonesia where the pay is much smaller. "It is just impossible that people from Hong Kong, America, Europe to look for job here when they could get a much higher pay in their countries," Jokowi said.

Chinese investors brought with them trained workers, but the workers will be replaced by Indonesian gradually, a government official has said. 

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