JAKARTA - A 61-year-old Indonesian migrant worker collapsed and died at a government shelter in Dumai, Riau Province, on Saturday night, January 3, just hours after being deported from Malaysia. 

BP3MI Riau head Fanny Wahyu Kurniawan announced on Monday, January 5, that Muhanip Bin Radi from Desa Sikur, East Lombok died around 8:20 PM at RS Awal Bros Dumai. As local publication Riau Aktual first reported, Muhanip passed away roughly four hours after arriving at the port.

Muhanip was among 19 workers deported from the Kemayan Immigration Detention Depot in Pahang, Malaysia. The group arrived at Dumai Port at 4:20 PM via Kapal Indomal Regal and were taken to a P4MI shelter for processing.

After showering that evening, Muhanip sat down with other deportees and suddenly lost consciousness. Staff gave first aid including medicated oil (minyak angin) but couldn't revive him. He was rushed to the hospital but pronounced dead. Officials suspect a heart attack though no autopsy results have been released.

Muhanip's body is being held at RSUD Dumai while BP3MI Riau coordinates with BP3MI West Nusa Tenggara to contact his family. The government will cover all repatriation costs including an ambulance to East Lombok.

The 19 deportees included 16 men and three women from North Sumatra, Aceh, Jakarta, West Java, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, East Java and Kalimantan. Health screenings found one worker from North Sumatra tested positive for HIV.

East Lombok has become a major source of illegal migrant workers heading to Malaysia. Just weeks earlier on December 30, Malaysia deported 75 workers from East Lombok. Local manpower officials say tracking these workers is nearly impossible because many use fake addresses or borrowed identity cards.

KJRI Johor Bahru facilitated the return of 2,449 deported Indonesian workers from Malaysia between January and May 2025 alone. Officials say Malaysia typically intensifies enforcement raids toward year-end.