There is an estimated over 2 million migrants and 100,000 asylum seekers and refugees in Malaysia. Most of them from neighboring countries such as Mynmmar, Philipines, Thailand, Viatnam, Nepal, Bangladesh, India and Indonesia. These people, mostly Asians, are well assimilated into our culture and some of them are even born and raised in our “Tanah tumpah darahku”. They look like us, they eat our food, they speak our language, they walk our land, they wear our clothes. Needless to say, with our multicolored and multicultural society within Malaysia, it is difficult to differentiate a true Malaysian from “the rest”.
Illegal Migrants and asylum seekers and refugees are often intertwined with each other because of their nature of “not belonging to the country”. However, there is a huge difference between these groups. Illegal migrants are foreigners who cross national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of our country or overstay their visitation/ study / or work permit. Refugees are people who flee their country of origin to escape danger or persecuting. On the other hand, asylum seekers are people who seek to be recognized as a refugee, a point where ones status is afloat.
There is obvious worry among the rakyat and our government regarding the influx in illegal migrants and asylum seekers in our country. Some of these worries are baseless, and others completely understandable such as the lack of resources within the country to sustain the growth of this community and the rise in crime. Whatever our stand may be on this issue, we have to acknowledge the fact that they are here in our present, and the numbers seem to be growing as the days pass us by.
In the current situation, less has and can been done to assist this group- mainly because of labels such as “illegal” and “foreign”. Children are raised without education, families have no access to medical support and most of them live in slumps that you and I would never imagine even walking pass by. This ghetto they call it, is one of the rich soil for social and health problems to flower. It is where women and children are abused, it is where people start stealing, it is where diseases and STD’s such as AIDS sprout, this is where people die of abuse, hunger and illness.
A conversation regarding the issue of illegal migrants in our country sparked a debate between a fellow friend and i. “Why should we help out foreigners when there is much space for improvement in our rakyat?” she asks. Besides the obvious argument of “basic human rights” and “ a world without boarders”, I realized that different goals and interests can be achieved from common processes.
If the debate should take a turn to a more technical approach, I would argue that the overall lifestyle of illegal migrants and asylum seekers residing in our country should be overlooked, and assisted for improvement as a step to improve our Malaysian society as a whole taking into account that they make up 10% of our society.,
There is always a bigger picture to look at. For this purpose, allow me to paint this picture of the benefits of efforts to improve the lifestyle of migrants and refugees in our country.
Access to health care would definitely reduce the prevalence of epidemic such as HIV, and promise a more “civilized” portion of the community. Should there be improvement in the area of medical access, HIV and other STD’s within the migrant community can be curbed, this will in return reduce the transmission of the virus to the “locals”. Access to education may allow young children to learn values that would make them “friendly” members of the community where the “locals” shall not fear safety when walking in their own land.
An acknowledgement of a “refugee” status for asylum seekers (the term “refugees” are not acknowledged in Malaysia) would allow a faster and smoother process of their relocation to other recipient countries.
A migrant can be killed and go unnoticed because there are no records of their existence.
Other than that, there are many abuse and rape cases that go on unreported because “illegals” are afraid to approach our local authority. Should there be a safe place where they can make complaints, there will be lesser “ harmful” people walking our streets.
These are just some of the many steps that can be taken into considerations.
At this moment, I believe the future of our nation should overpower the jurisdiction. By improving the lifestyle of illegal migrants and refugees in our country, I believe that the government would not be encouraging or welcoming illegal migrants into the country, but instead looking out for the future of our nation. I understand that resources are scarce, especially with the wave of global recession, however, there are many international funding that support such efforts, and would be more than willing to elevate our financial burden or constrains, with the support of the government. There are also many sprouting NGO’s that are beginning to lend a hand, and with collaboration from the government, wonders can be achieved.
Thus, whichever point of view we may come from, whether or not it is to advocate for basic human rights, a world without boarders, or to put the interest of our people before the “others”, I believe it can all be achieved by one common process. Let me stress again, whether we like it or not, they are here in our now. Its either we sit back and complain about the situation, or we can make the best of what we have and work around our struggles.
Uphold rights of every person as set out in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is international customary law and therefore binding on Malaysia.
