Indonesia Pushes Special Border Treatment Scheme at Border with Malaysia

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correction pushes to strengthen the Special Border Treatment (SBT) scheme as an alternative solution to mobility and employment issues affecting communities along the Indonesia–Malaysia border. It was discussed at a meeting in Jakarta on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, focused on the SBT scheme for border communities, particularly those in Riau's Meranti Islands Regency and Karimun Regency.

"The Special Border Treatment (SBT) scheme is seen as an alternative solution to employment and mobility issues among border communities, while also serving as an effort to eliminate brokers and other illicit intermediaries in the process of sending workers abroad," Acting Assistant Deputy for Immigration Service Strategy Coordination at the coordinating ministry, Herdaus, said, as quoted from its website on Friday, August 28, 2026.

The SBT is considered a potential instrument for shifting the practice of "passing" – where Indonesians legally enter Malaysia but subsequently work without authorization – toward a legal, orderly, safe, and protected system of worker mobility and placement. The scheme is also expected to reduce the vulnerability of border communities to exploitation, arrest, deportation, loss of documents, and brokerage practices.

The ministry added that the governments of Meranti Islands Regency and Karimun Regency believe that geographical characteristics and long-standing social and economic ties are among the factors driving high levels of mobility to Malaysia. Therefore, a special mechanism is needed to provide certainty on immigration and employment status while ensuring that the facility is prioritized for residents in the designated areas, so both governments consequently support the SBT scheme.

During the discussion, legality was identified as one of the key issues. The Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas) emphasized the need to ensure that the SBT is consistent with the national legal and constitutional framework, including clarifying its position within the legal hierarchy and its relationship with the Border Crossing Agreement (BCA).

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the discussion on the SBT. It said the scheme would be brought to the Indonesia–Malaysia Annual Consultation forum scheduled for October 30–31, 2026.

Ministry of Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection also said the SBT should be designed within the framework of Indonesia–Malaysia government-to-government (G2G) cooperation, rather than solely under the BCA. The arrangement should cover border-crossing procedures, types of employment, the placement of Indonesian migrant workers, immigration documents, and certainty that a job order is in place before workers depart.

Based on the discussions, the SBT has in principle received support from relevant ministries, government agencies, and local governments as an alternative means of providing border communities with access to legal employment while strengthening the protection of Indonesian citizens abroad. However, implementation will still require regulatory harmonization, the development of technical arrangements, and further negotiations with the Malaysian government.

The coordinating ministry, together with relevant ministries, government agencies, and local governments, will also strengthen coordination to ensure that the SBT prioritizes national interests and the protection of Indonesian citizens. In principle, the scheme has been agreed to move forward, although its technical aspects and implementation mechanisms still need to be discussed further with the Malaysian government.