REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PEKANBARU -- Five Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) Hercules planes arrived at the Roesmin Nurjadin Airbase here on Monday en route to Malaysia to repatriate illegal Indonesian migrant workers.

"We will make maximum use of the capacity of the existing planes. A long-bodied Hercules plane can carry 128 people, while a short-bodied one can transport 92 people. In total, the planes can carry 553 Indonesian migrant workers," the commander of the repatriation mission, Lt. Col. Purwanto, said at the Roesmin Nurjadin Airbase on Monday (22/12).

The planes arrived at the airbase in stages beginning at 4.00 p. m. local time. The crew members of the planes will spend the night in the Riau provincial capital of Pekanbaru before leaving for Malaysia on Tuesday at 9.45 a. m.

Those part of the mission will coordinate with the Indonesian embassy in Malaysia in repatriating the migrant workers, he pointed out.

"The planes are scheduled to leave Malaysia at 2.00 p. m. local time," Purwanto stated.

The Malaysian police arrested the Indonesian migrant workers for illegally entering the country.

Furthermore, Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Ida Bagus Putu Dunia noted in Jakarta earlier in the day that nearly 1,000 illegal Indonesian migrant workers will be repatriated from Malaysia using the TNI AU's Hercules planes.

"In line with the instruction from the TNI (Indonesian military) chief, the TNI AU will assist the repatriation of the migrant workers from Malaysia to Indonesia. The result of the last coordination meeting shows that nearly 1,000 migrant workers will be repatriated," he affirmed on the sidelines of the TNI leadership meeting 2014 at the military headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Monday.

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