JAKARTA: Indonesia barred a group of its plantation workers from travelling to Malaysia because recruiters did not follow proper procedures and most of the workers did not have the right visa, the head of the country's migrant worker protection agency said.
Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil producer behind Indonesia, had been set to welcome the first major batch of migrant workers since reopening borders in a boost for a sector facing a shortage of more than 100,000 workers.
The Indonesian agency, known as BP2MI, noted 125 of the 148 workers planning to travel this week did not have a visa to work in Malaysia yet, while the rest had other document issues.
