Immigrant tide swamps Malaysia

Illegal immigrants wave as they leave Port Klang, Malaysia. A total of 245 Indonesians were deported under tight security to Sumatra, Indonesia in March.

By staff and wire reports

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysia and neighboring Singapore are battling to keep out Indonesians desperate for a chance to find a better life.

The Straits of Malacca are now busier than ever with boatloads of refugees fleeing politically volatile and impoverished Indonesia.

In mid-May, the Malaysian government said 5,000 Indonesians were gathered on Batam Island, 45 minutes away by speedboat from its shores, waiting for a chance to sneak in. Death or deportation is little deterrent.

In one recent patrol, the police caught 82 migrants crammed in the hull of a wooden boat. In total, 6,000 illegal Indonesians were arrested in the month of May alone.

Wealth is a big incentive. Nearly a quarter of Indonesia's 200 million people are living in poverty, and millions more are little better off.

Compare their plight to those living in neighboring Singapore, which is a rich country by any standards, and to Malaysia, which has succeeded in reducing poverty to less than seven percent from around 50 percent in the early 1970s.

Indians now outnumbered

While official figures indicate there could be as many as one million Indonesians in Malaysia, the Indonesian embassy recently said it could be as high as two million.

If so, Indonesians could now outnumber Malaysia's official third largest ethnic group -- the 1.6 million Indians accounted for in the year 2000 census.

Last year Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur, deported about 90,000 Indonesians. Those captured are held in detention camps across the country before being shipped home.

Common heritage

Common ethnic roots, religion and a similar language with the majority of Malays, allows those Indonesians who get into the country to adapt to new lives in Malaysia.

Many arrived at the start of the development drive in the early 1980s. In the street markets of Chow Kit district, Kuala Lumpur, Indonesians still dominate the trade.

But their growing numbers worry ordinary Malaysians. For their part, many Indonesians resent the superior attitudes of some of their hosts.

Beating the system

Many Indonesians cheat the system by entering Malaysia on tourist passes, and then find work.

Officials appear understanding of Indonesians in Malaysia, yet residents complain of rising crime and Indonesians moving into their areas.

Already a squatter area is mushrooming on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. With no official status, Indonesian squatters still managed to build 1,000 homes, access water and electricity.

Reuters contributed to this report.