This article is the first in a three-part series that sheds light on the “excess” of immigrants in the country. He wonders if there are too many immigrants in the country or if this is just a misconception among the public.
The sun was above the head when the morning wet market in Meru, Klang, Selangor, was still abuzz with activity – customers haggling for bargains while sellers wanted to close their sales for the day.
At a stall promoting a new bird, a guy in his thirties, obviously a foreigner, was cutting a bird into pieces for customers.
“I’m from Bangladesh and have been in this business for the past one year,” he said, with no qualms about revealing himself when asked by Bernama.
The burly, medium-sized man, who prefers to be called Karim, said he had no choice yet to work illegally as a shopkeeper because his painting permit at a plastics processing plant in Selangor had been renewed through his employer.
“I wouldn’t worry if the government raided here. What happens is that I can save some money for my own expenses and send it to my wife and two children who are still young in Bangladesh,” he said in a deteriorated Malay.
Among the foreigners who were seen running illegal businesses during a BERNAMA survey at a morning market in Meru, recently.
When asked why he returned to Bangladesh after his permit expired, Karim replied that he had enough cash to do so.
“(But) now I can earn about 100 ringgit a day without doing anything,” said Karim, who owns a van.
However, since he works here illegally, he fears that the authorities will arrest him and stresses that he would not be able to pay the fines if he is arrested.
“That’s the reason why I have to save as much money as I can from now. If anything happens to me, I can afford it,” he added.
“EXCESS” OF MIGRANTS
According to local investors gathered at the market, Karim is one of dozens of immigrants doing business here, most of whom sell rain foods such as vegetables, fish and chicken.
“If there was a raid, they would flee in a disorderly manner and just abandon their products,” said one trader who requested anonymity.
The growing presence of immigrants like Karim online has sparked public concern, especially among merchants, who have claimed that illegal immigrants get their money’s worth.
Commenting on the issue, International Humanitarian Organization (WHO) Secretary-General Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim said Malaysia is considered a haven for migrants to earn a living.
It does not exclude that the “refusal” of immigrants to return home after the expiration of their permit is one of the points that contribute to the “excess” of this organization today in the country.
Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim
“They had valid documents such as Temporary Work Permit (PLKS) or Social Visit Pass (PLS) with contract or for a certain time, but they have not been renewed or remain in the country with their expired permit because it is easy to make a living here,” he told Bernama.
Previously, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had reported that there were an estimated 1. 2 to 3. 5 million undocumented or abnormal migrants in Malaysia in 2022.
A source at the Interior Ministry told Bernama that at the beginning of this year, the total number of migrant workers in six formal sectors covering structure and production was around two million (less than 2 million). four million projected through the Ministry of Economy and the XII Malaysia Plan.
According to the source, the forecasts were based on the assumption that only 15 per cent of the total local workforce can work in the country at any given time. There are currently about 17 million local employees in those sectors. .
“Despite the dangers of being fined RM1,000 or imprisoned for up to six months for those who do not comply with the PLKS and PLS situations, they are not intimidated and do not seem to be afraid of (our) laws. “That’s the truth today,” Hishamuddin said.
He also ruled out the option that foreign staff laid off at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in that country chose to violate immigration law by staying here illegally.
“At that time, they could not return to their country of origin as the borders were closed. Now that the borders have reopened, they still refused to go home. Why is this so? In my opinion, the key driving factor is economy,” he said.
He said the challenge has worsened as many of those foreign employees have ventured into sectors that are intended to be governed by locals, such as grocery stores, laundromats, as well as cashier jobs in supermarkets, etc.
“In this regard, I propose that laws should be tightened to prevent foreign workers from being involved in the business sector and rippling through the economy of the locals,” he added.
IGNITES DISCOMFORT
Based on surveys conducted among local traders, especially those at morning and night markets in the Klang Valley, these migrants had no difficulty in acquiring a business space despite the fact that there is already an authority managing the site.
“It’s mind-boggling: how can these foreigners smoothly access businesses when we ourselves have to ask for space and pay a fee,” shared Hamidah (not his real name), a morning market trader Bernama met in Meru.
“It’s unfair because we have to apply for an operating permit from the local government (PBT) and pay the rent for the place, when they can just pitch a tent, a license or a permit. As local traders, we are very uncomfortable with this situation.
“How can we expand our business when buyers have a choice to buy at this ‘illegal shop’?” asked the trader, who sells cooking items such as onions and potatoes.
The Deputy Director of the Centre for Research on Population and Migration at the University of Malaya, Associate Professor Dr Mashitah Hamidi, said without a doubt that the attitude of some immigrants towards the culture and traditions of other peoples had led to unrest among the local population.
“They regularly stay in teams and seem to live in their own world. Also, they don’t perceive the laws, so they think they’re not being monitored. That’s why they dare (to do what they want) and they don’t care. “about the effects of their actions,” he told Bernama.
Associate Professor Dr. Mashitah Hamidi
At the same time, it states that the predominance of immigrants in a given area is due to the lack of regular and continuous control.
“In addition, national borders will have to be well monitored and maintained, such as in Australia, where the movements of foreigners entering the country can be tracked in detail. If painting screenings or social visits can be carried out on a consistent basis “We will be able to prevent such a situation from occurring,” he added.
MANIPULATION OF FOREIGN WORKERS
Sharing similar sentiments, EMIR Research Head of Social, Law and Human Rights Jason Loh said the level of commitment towards monitoring and enforcement of migrants’ entry into the country is still low.
Referring to the formula for hiring foreign workers, he cited the existence of irresponsible parties that manipulate the formula to make massive profits.
“They take credit for domestic demand for hard work abroad as a shortcut to lucrative profits. Workers are left unattended after being brought into the country,” he said, adding that the guilty employers would like their staff to be sent back to their home countries. When his paintings let in to expire.
However, because they are reluctant to bear the costs, employers are simply shirking their duty to look after the welfare of staff who crack down on illegal immigrants.
A foreign man hid in a water tank to avoid being caught by law enforcement officers during a recent operation by the Malaysian Immigration Department in Negeri Sembilan.
“When this happens, the pressures of life force those migrants to capture each and every one of them for a chance to make a living, as well as conduct business illegally. In fact, some have committed robberies. But those crimes are related to private and individual matters. traits, such as intellectual status, the status of the offender, or that the foreign employee has in the past been a criminal in his or her country,” he added.
Translated via Salbiah Saïd
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