Residents peeved over house rented to Chinese workers

PETALING JAYA: Residents of a premium gated estate in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, are up in arms over a house that has allegedly been rented out to foreign workers from China.

N Parameswaran, who has lived in the neighbourhood for eight years, was reported as saying that some 20 men were renting the house and had set up an industrial kitchen behind it.

In a report carried by The Straits Times, he said there were also large industrial gas tanks in the compound which were used for outdoor cooking.

Another resident, P Jeyaratnam, expressed regret over the presence of the workers, saying the estate was touted as an upmarket residential area.

“It is a great place to call home with friendly neighbours, but we are uncomfortable with the presence of these men whom we do not even know,” he was quoted as saying.

The house, which is located in the East Ledang estate, is allegedly owned by a Singaporean. However, the residents said they had never seen him as he conducted his business through an agent.

“All we know is that the owner is from Singapore and they can’t be bothered as they don’t live here, which is very selfish of them,” a resident named Lee said.

According to the report, the Johor Bahru Central Municipal Council will be looking into the matter.

Earlier this week, Malay daily Harian Metro accused migrant workers from China working in the capital city of unruly behaviour.

It said some Chinese migrant workers urinated on the streets, got drunk and were noisy.

However, residents and business operators near the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) development in Kuala Lumpur told FMT that they had no problems with the workers.

Although acknowledging that they could be noisy, locals said the workers caused no disturbances in the area.

This was after a police patrol team was forced to fire warning shots after being attacked by dozens of men from China at Jalan Abraham off Jalan Khoo Teik Ee last week.

The patrol team had stumbled upon the men gambling at the porch of a house at 10.30pm. No one was injured in the incident. -FMT