ASYLUM seekers in Indonesia are well aware of the federal government's plan to send boat people to Malaysia and now say they will not attempt the sea crossing to Australia.

The reaction is a boost for the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and Labor. They have been hammered in the polls because of a sharp rise in unauthorised arrivals since the relaxation of immigration policies in 2008.

Much-needed boost ... Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Credit:Ben Rushton

Hundreds of asylum seekers, most from Afghanistan and Iraq, live in Puncak, a mountainous region outside Jakarta. Here, they wait to meet people smugglers or bide their time pending resettlement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

At the villas and crumbling hostels where they reside, the Herald got the same response: everyone knew of the policy change and said they would not be engaging the services of a people smuggler any time soon.