Illegal Immigrants

We use this term so easily…so naturally. That is how we have been taught to think. Have we ever stopped to consider exactly what it means? Not just on the surface level, but also the implications and the connotations of the term ‘illegal immigrants’. Just take a second to think about it. Who comes to mind when the term ‘immigrant’ is mentioned? Who comes to mind when the term ‘illegal immigrant’ is mentioned? I am pretty sure that each of us has a certain kind of mental perception of an illegal immigrant.

Of course, it is important to note that for people from different states and countries, the term means different things. The basic premise or the so-called ‘definition’ of illegal immigrant is someone who is somewhere they are not supposed to be in without proper legal documentation. In reality, this term carries a lot more meanings. If you think about it, who on earth is illegal? Why do we have the right to decide whether another person has the permission to stay somewhere or be somewhere? An illegal immigrant in America, for example, could include anyone from a poor, innocent, female Hispanic maid without a permit to a full blow terrorist. It does not seem to matter… they are both treated the same; as illegal immigrants.

In Malaysia, the government uses its biggest weapon, the media, to paint a really ugly image of illegal immigrants. In Malaysia, the so-called illegal immigrants are the poor, desperate labor workers from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Bangladesh, among others. They come here to this ‘wonderful’ country, leaving their families, dignity, and pride behind in the hopes of finding a job that can help them and their families survive. They need to do this because the situation in their own countries renders them incapable of making a living, either because they are being persecuted in the name of ethnic cleansing (The Rohingyas of Burma) or they are simply the victims of tragedy (Aceh). The saddest part is that these people cannot afford the proper legal way to come here, because of the high costs of getting documents and flight tickets and so they are forced to put their fate in the hands of underground syndicates to carry them to Malaysia. These immigrants, as you can see, are not criminals… they are victims.

Yet, how do we treat them? We are immigrants ourselves. Yet, we treat our own brothers and sisters who immigrate to Malaysia in search of hope in the same manner we treat rats and vermin. We round them up, wherever we can find them, assemble them in the streets, lock them up, put them away in detention camps and then abuse them before shipping them back. Sounds horrible? Well, that is exactly what our wonderful authorities do. For evidence, just look up for information on the Semenyih detention camps, repatriation, mass deportations and the sad case of Mangal Bahadur Gurung of Nepal. You will see that I am not pulling your legs.

You might argue that illegal immigrants are the cause of a lot of social problems; maids kidnapping children, workers raping local women, prostitution… bla bla bla. Ever notice that the only agents that tells us all these stories are the local papers and news? The very agents that are the fingers of the government? The truth is this; illegal immigrants in Malaysia, have the lowest crime rate among all the other races. They also happen to be the main driving force behind the economy due to manual labor in plantations and so on. The above-mentioned problems, such as prostitution, are not the fault of the immigrants. THEY ARE VICTIMS! They are often innocent young girls who are kidnapped from their countries by irresponsible individuals who force them to work in brothels and make a large profit out of it. Yet, who is it that we see in the papers? We see the girls being hounded out by police officers who intimidate and humiliate them even further. We do not see photos of the ring leaders being busted and the girls being freed and protected. We see the girls being arrested, put in lock-ups and forced to undergo ‘strip-squats’!

This is the truth, ladies and gentlemen, of how we Proud, Dignified, Wonderful Malaysians treat our poor, desperate neighbors who come to our country seeking hope and survival. This is what it means to be Malaysian. Be VERY PROUD OF IT!!!!

MALAYSIA BOLEH !!!!