Saturday, September 26, 2009

Migration and Malaysia, Crackdown, Fear, and Aftermath



By Soch Mel

There have been some serious tensions between the Malaysian government and many migrants. Migrants came to Malaysia either for working opportunities or are in refuge as refugees. However, these arrivals have caused the anger and resentment of the established Malaysian population. These migrants have been the targets of harassment, arrest, whippings, imprisonment, and deportation.

New York Times article

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/world/asia/10malaysia.html?_r=1

In the New York Times Article, Mr. Kang Long, an ethnic China refugee from Burma, talked about his experience as a refugee/migrant in Malaysia. It is estimated that there are 3 million foreign workers in Malaysia working the farms, factories, constructions sites, and the service industries; about .5 million are presume to be in Malaysia illegally.

In 2005, the Malaysian government converted its’ self-defense corps from fighting Communists in the 1960s into a hunting group tracking down the migrants. Rela, as it is called, has about .5 million people, majority of whom are untrained volunteers, to combat the growing migrant problem. The leaders of Rela have the right to enter a person’s home and can search on person on the street without a warrant. It is stated that there are between 30 and 40 raids per night carried out by the volunteers of Rela.

“They break into migrant lodgings in the middle of the night without warrants, brutalize inhabitants, extort money and confiscate cellphones, clothing, jewelry and household goods, before handcuffing migrants and transporting them to detention camps for illegal immigrants,” Human Rights Watch said in a report in May.
And here’s another interesting quote from the New York Times Article.

“In an interview, Rela’s director-general, Zaidon Asmuni, dismissed the concerns of human rights groups, saying the nation’s security was at stake, and demanded an aggressive defense. ‘We have no more Communists at the moment, but we are now facing illegal immigrants,’ he said. ‘As you know, in Malaysia illegal immigrants are enemy No. 2.’ Enemy No. 1, he says, is drugs.”

From these two perspectives, we can see that the Malaysian Government paints all migrants as an evil to Malaysian society and culture. However, does that fear give the Malaysian government the right to allow its volunteers go and conduct raids, potentially not just migrants but other Malaysian citizens as well.

What the issue also brushed over is that refugees get caught up in this battle. Mr. Kang Long is a refugee from Burma; like other refugees they are registered with the United Nations. However, Malaysia did not sign the United Nations Refugee Convention.

When the refugees get deported, the situation becomes even more devastating. Human traffickers are waiting for them in Thailand, where refugees from Burma have been facing harassment and persecution from the Thai government and police. If the migrants can pay $450 dollars, the traffickers smuggle them back to Kuala Lumpur; if they don’t have money, they are sold as laborers to fishing boats or enter the sex trade.

Because of these raids and fear of Rela, many migrants and refugees flee their urban apartments for shacks in the jungle. However, they are still being chased by Rela who then take away their valuables, burn their shacks, and further displaces the migrants according the medical aid group Doctors without Borders.

Rela is searching for anyone who looks like an Asian Foreigner as most of the migrants came from Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Vietnam, and Burma.
This issue does not only affect Malaysia, but will also affect its relations with many of its neighbors.

Second New York Times Article

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/business/economy/01labor.html?sq=&st=nyt&adxnnl=1&scp=8&adxnnlx=1253988417-Ss1BGsDF2UOKy1z44ohglQ

Recently, the after-effect of Rela and the Malaysian government crackdown on foreign migrant workers has led to serious economic problems. Malaysia is now facing a labor shortage issue. Case example is this one restaurant owner who had to lay off many of his workers who are of foreign origin. Because he is short on staff, he may be forced to close one of his restaurants.

The Malaysian government only allows a maximum of 5 years for foreign workers before they have to go back.

Other industries and business are also facing labor shortages since many migrants are hired as a cheaper option than local Malaysians. Productivity is on the decline. In January of 2009, the Government decided to place a quota on hiring foreign workers in the manufacturing and service industries.

Check out these quotes by Syed Hamid Albar, and Fajasekaran Govindasamy.
“‘There is no valid reason to bring in foreign workers at this time,’ Syed Hamid Albar, the home minister, told the paper.”

“‘Because of the global economic downturn, we were worried about the impact on jobs for Malaysians as well as foreigners,’ said Rajasekaran Govindasamy, the group’s secretary general. ‘We don’t want workers to be brought in and abandoned, because that then causes hardship.’”

Clearly, the crackdown and regulations placed on migrant workers is now a factor in the downturn or slowdown of the Malaysian Economy. If Malaysia doesn’t seek a different approach, it will have issues with the other Southeast Asian countries.

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