Institutional Strategic Management of Manpower Planning in Nusantara Malay Archipelago: (Case Study on Indonesia’s Public Policy of Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMIs) Working in Malaysia)

Abstract

The issue of Indonesian migrant workers (PMIs) working in Malaysia has been an ongoing sticking point in the Indonesian-Malaysian relations. Malaysia is reportedly the country with the highest number of complaints with regards to PMIs. This study aims to examine Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) working in Malaysia from an institutional perspective, especially vis-a-vis the planning processes, strategic management and conceptualizing the problem. This article is based on a research that posits a possible explanation to this problem from the perspective of human resource management process, especially in manpower or human resource planning. In pursuing this line of inquiry, the research analyzes the institutional players involved in administrating and managing the PMIs. It adopts a qualitative case study approach in policy analysis, albeit supported and complemented by quantitative data. Among the key findings of this study is the high degree of the bureaucratic and procedural complexities related to processing of migrant workers. This is largely contributed by the inefficiencies, lack of transparency and even more so the redundancies existing in the eco-system of various agencies involved in the planning and placement process of PMI, including those at the central, regional/provincial and local levels of governmental as well as private entities. Yet another key finding points to the lack of integrated coordination which is strategic and comprehensive between the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia in the form of Government to Government joint-machinery as well as intra-governmental operations in Indonesia. Consequently, the ones who often play a pivotal role in handling PMI are private agencies and individuals, while governments only act as facilitators. Evaluating from an institutional strategic management approach, improvements are needed in the manpower planning agencies in crucial areas, including human resource (manpower) development strategies, availability of human resource data, institutional personnel competencies in manpower development and career path planning capacity of the workers. Ultimately, with the third key finding of the research, this article questions the premise of the problem, which is the underlying presumption that PMIs are causing problems in Malaysia or that Malaysia is the worst destination country for PMIs. The research has discovered among the top countries with the largest number of complaints, Malaysia actually has among the lowest, if not the lowest percentages of complaints.