Is Malaysia becoming a haven for immigrants?

 by Ahmad Fadzly Esa

EXCLUSIVE: After spending most of the day in the office, until late at night sometimes, we head straight for home. 

Home – the best place for us to unwind and to be with our family. 

But, is it? What if your house is surrounded by loud foreign neighbours, who don’t tone down their voice in the wee hours? Can you rest and get a good night’s sleep? Does the saying ‘Rumahku Syurgaku’ (home sweet home) have any meaning at all? 

Have you entered a lift and suddenly found yourself surrounded by immigrants? For some of us, this isn’t peculiar and is a daily experience; right in the morning on our way to work and in the evening, when we get back.  

These scenes may annoy you. First, when they have a conversation among themselves, you don’t understand a thing. They glance at you every now and then which makes matters worse, which is when you start beginning to feel uneasy. 

Second, when you try to be friendly and strike up a conversation in English with them, they keep jabbering in their lingo while making weird expressions. How would you feel, huh? 

What if your family members, say your mother, wife or daughter, are in this situation?  

For three days I stayed at Pangsapuri Seri Nipah, Subang Jaya. This block of 11-storey flats was built five years ago. Residents here are mostly immigrant workers, about 70% of them. 

The place is in a real mess and filthy. Every level, including the emergency stairs, reeks of stale food. The block has two elevators, but only one is working. 

It takes me back to when I used to live in Malacca eight years ago. I lived there since I was in college until I got my first job after graduation. 

I rented a flat with a friend at Bachang, Batu Berendam, near an electronics factory. There were three five-storey blocks of flats, namely A, B and C. 

Here, female immigrant workers lived in Block C. There was a signboard together with a list of rules. It was gated, and security guards were placed at the entrance. 

The employer was really considerate to provide accommodation and take good care of their welfare. 

There are few neighbourhoods that have this mixture of immigrant workers and locals as residents, such as  Pangsapuri Suria Avenue Shah Alam, Pangsapuri Mentari Court Sunway Petaling Jaya and Apartmen Suria Kinrara Bandar Kinrara. Of course there are a lot more and not just in Selangor, I believe. 

The presence of a large number of immigrant workers raises a pertinent question. 

Shouldn’t immigrant workers live apart from the locals? Hostels just for them, perhaps? Why are foreigners, be they students or workers, left to do whatever they want without authorities monitoring and supervising them?

- theantdaily