KOTA KINABALU: The Indonesian Worker Placement Entrepreneurs Association (PAPPINDO) has called for cooperation between the Sabah Government (Malaysia) and the Indonesian Government to assist hundreds of thousands of Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) in Sabah who lack valid documents.
According to figures presented by PAPPINDO in March 2026, more than 700,000 PMI across Malaysia—including Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia—are estimated to need assistance. About 300,000 of them are in Sabah.
PAPPINDO’s chair, Faizal Nawawi, said the association felt responsible for managing and assisting Indonesian workers (TKI) and PMI who were stranded in Malaysia without valid documents, particularly in Sabah.
“PAPPINDO is concerned about Indonesian PMI because they need humanitarian protection to live with dignity, like everyone else,” the association’s representative said here.
He said many PMI lack documents such as passports, identity cards (KTP), family cards and birth certificates. Without these documents, they struggle to access protection and legal employment, and live in constant fear of being arrested.
Accordingly, Pappindo said it had appealed to the Malaysian Government and the Indonesian state authorities to provide the organisation with facilities and letters of support so it could assist Indonesian nationals in Malaysia.
Pappindo is currently working with the Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysian Foreign Worker Employers Association (Pemaba) to locate and assist migrant workers who lack documentation.
“We share the same goals. Pemaba and Pappindo are awaiting letters of support from both countries to ensure that our assistance efforts comply with the laws and regulations of each country.
“Once we receive a letter of support from the Sabah Government, it will be easier for us to visit employers and collect information about undocumented Indonesian migrant workers (PMI). The letter will authorise us to gather workers’ data here,” he said.
Pappindo also hopes the letters will encourage employers of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia to help document their employees and verify their identities. The information will help both countries address foreign-worker issues, which have persisted in Sabah for many years.
Faizal said the documentation process would involve visiting immigration offices to obtain passports, national identity cards (KTP), family cards (KK) and birth certificates. Once their documents are complete, the workers will have legal status under the law.
Pappindo stressed that the initiative’s primary purpose is humanitarian.
“Pappindo will advocate for Indonesian nationals left stranded because they do not have valid documents. With the support of both countries, we are confident that this effort will succeed and be carried out,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Sabah Immigration Department has urged employers in the state to take part in the digital registration programme for foreign nationals through the Sabah Integrated Management System for Foreign Workers and Non-Residents (SWIMS). The initiative is intended to manage and record the presence of foreign workers in the state.
The system is also expected to help curb the growing number of illegal immigrants (PTI) and address Sabah’s widespread documentation problems.
