The 90 Indonesian migrant workers involved in a wage dispute with a local construction company will be advised to return home for their own safety before the amnesty for illegal migrant workers ends in March.

Indonesia-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Migrant Care country coordinator Alex Ong said majority of these workers on principle are prepared to return if there is an assurance that their wages will be paid.

"We hope this will stop the construction company from harassing them further," he said at a joint press conference by Malaysian and Indonesian NGOs in Kuala Lumpur.

The 90 workers claimed to be shortchanged by subcontractor Sri Mega Jaya Sdn Bhd of wages amounting to RM150,000 after working on Medan Prestasi project in Damansara Damai, Selangor, since last September.

The main contractor of the project is Plato Construction (M) Sdn Bhd which is owned by MK Land Holdings.

The workers have also sent a letter to MK Land Holdings, urging its executive chairperson Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar to look into the matter.

On Feb 8, a local workers support group, the Labour Resource Centre, filed a police report against Mustapha for the alleged hiring and non-payment of wages to illegal workers.

Last Friday, the workers also filed a police report against Human Resources Minister Dr Fong Chan Onn based on his statement that Sri Mega Jaya had paid the wages, which according to him amounted to RM500,000, to an intermediary who has since absconded.

Don't blacklist

Contacted later, Ong said the workers also are hoping that they will not be blacklisted by the Malaysian authorities, thus preventing them from returning here to work in future.

"We hope through the diplomatic network, the Indonesian embassy in Malaysia will be able to ensure that they will be allowed to come back here. The claim for their wages must continue with the legal process," he added.

Ong said it was a 'major breakthrough' that the workers had agreed to return home as in the past they were prepared to say and 'fight till death' for their money.

"... If they insist on staying here, they will face more hassle and harassment," he claimed.

He said the Indonesian embassy in Malaysia will help register the workers who agreed to return at the construction site, where they are staying.

Meanwhile, a joint statement by the NGOs today urged the Malaysian government not to be seen as over protecting the employers who are exploiting illegal migrant workers.

"There is substantial evidence that Sri Mega Jaya had violated the Immigration Act for hiring the illegal migrants," said Ong.

He claimed that Plato and MK Land knew they were illegal workers and had permitted them to enter and work at the site.