Jokowi is mobbed by his countrymen inside the Indoor Stadium upon his arrival.
KUCHING: President Joko Widodo of Indonesia wants his countrymen working in Sarawak to get their passports and proper work permits done soonest to ensure they will not be deported home.
“I want you all to pay attention to this important issue. You must get your passports done in order to work in Sarawak. I would also like to urge our officials at the consulate-general office here to assist you in getting the documents as soon as possible with no extra charges,” he said at ‘Meet the President’ session at the Indoor Stadium in Petra Jaya yesterday.
He said it irked him to find out that many of his countrymen are working here without permits.
He also advised Indonesian parents working in Sarawak to have their children properly registered to ensure they would be able to go to school.
“We need to build our human capital. So, I really hope parents will register their children with the consul-general office here in Kuching. This way, you can send your children to schools because the future of our country lies with our children.
“As you know, education is key to our success. It’s only through education that we can progress. And, we need our country to progress like other Asean countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and even Vietnam, which have progressed well ahead of us. We have a lot of catching up to do,” he said.
Fondly called Jokowi, the president told his countrymen that his government was now emphasising on constructing major infrastructure projects across the country, including the trans-Kalimantan highway, in order to provide better connectivity to the population of some 258 million people, spreading over 17,000 islands.
“We are a big country and big population. To speed up development, we have taken major initiatives to transform our country to be at par with our neighbours,” he said, citing an example of how he wanted the border post at Entikong, West Kalimantan near Tebedu to be upgraded so that it would be at par with the Tebedu border post.
Jokowi also advised his countrymen to observe the laws here to preserve the good name of their country.
This is the first time Jokowi visited Sarawak since he was elected president in 2014.