There are xenophobic Malaysians and that is the truth. Some of these xenophobes take it one step further and allege that the increased population of foreign workers is the cause of increased crime rate.
I am usually uncomfortable with the allegation. In a way, the phobia forms part of anti-free market thinking; protectionist thinking. Further, it seems that foreign workers are being made scapegoats.
Without proper citation however, if I were to challenge the allegation, their words would be as good as mine. That changes today as I have found a reputable source to back me up. At The Economist:
Malaysians think that the increase in foreign workers has worsened crime rates. Official figures show that foreigners in the country commit proportionately fewer crimes than do Malaysians themselves.
Anyway, the xenophobia is not unique to Malaysia though the reason might differ. Nevertheless, it is a typical protectionist rationale:
Locals in the receiving countries already seem to be worried about competition for their jobs. In a recent poll for the ILO, 59% of Thais said their government should admit no more foreign workers, and only 10% thought more should come. Even in prosperous, cosmopolitan Singapore, just over half of locals oppose admitting more foreign workers, according to a poll in the Straits Times.
Also, in Singapore, according to Rajan:
In other words, foreigners are proportionally underrepresented amongst criminals. So not only is “most crimes in Singapore are done by foreign labourer workers” false in the absolute sense, neither is it true on a proportional basis.
So, let us reject out irrational prejudice against foreign labors.
6 replies on “[1081] Of foreign labor and crime rate”
[…] are more nuance to that fear it seems. Unlike in Malaysia where the accusation that foreigners commit disproportionately more crime than local which is not […]
[…] in large number. I thought it was normal for the locals to feel some discomfort and since I have blogged about such xenophobia earlier, I decided to let it go. When I saw a post by The Malaysian which quotes the International Herald […]
spotted in the NST today. Can you sense the implicit racism/racialism/nationalism in the article? Us vs. the “foreigners” kinda fear-mongering.
Rela comes out in force, too
KUALA LUMPUR: As usual, the city was almost devoid of Malaysians on the first day of the lunar new year. Also as usual, foreigners thronged the city.
Not so usual were Rela members deciding to go on a blitz, rounding up more than 30 foreigners without valid travel documents.
From 9am, Indonesians, Nepalese, Bangladeshis and other citizens of the world came in their thousands to take advantage of the holiday and the less-than-crowded streets of the federal capital.
They flagged down taxis, overloaded buses and rushed to the LRTs as they headed to a number of spots in the city.
Top on the list was the Kuala Lumpur City Centre, where thousands of them stood, sat or squatted in front of the fountains and under the shade of the trees in the park.
“I’ve never seen so many of them in my life,†said one of the few Malaysians in the city, Mohd Nazri Zakariaon, on Thursday as he stood in front of the Suria KLCC main entrance.
The security guard from Kelantan was visiting Kuala Lumpur for the holidays.
“In fact, you’re one of the first Malaysians I’ve seen since I arrived at the KLCC,†he told the New Straits Times.
The situation wasn’t much different elsewhere in the city.
Near Pertama Complex and Sogo, hundreds of foreigners squatted on the staircases, talking and mingling among themselves.
Couples could be seen holding hands, renewing ties that had endured the long wait since their last outing.
But about 4pm, the Dang Wangi Rela crashed the party — herding 30 Indonesians in the Chow Kit area into a Black Maria, to be taken to the Dang Wangi police station.
When the Rela members appeared, dozens of Indonesians and Bangladeshis ran helter skelter for the backlanes to avoid being detained.
A local child was slightly injured when a burly Indonesian collided with him and his mother. Rela members managed to apprehend the man.
One of the officers, Ismail Ramli, said Rela was on standby in the Chow Kit area to break up fights, prevent thefts and find illegal immigrants.
He said Rela members were on similar operations at the KLCC, Central Market, Klang Bus Stand and Puduraya.
For Gerard Pereira, who works with a bank in the heart of the city — this has always been the way during the holidays in Kuala Lumpur.
“For 362 days of the year, the city is filled with busy, working Malaysians.
For three days, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Hari Raya Aidiladha and Chinese New Year, when city-dwellers desert their city and head to their hometowns, the city is overtaken by immigrant workers,†he said.
For taxi driver Yusman Zainal Abidin, however, the days when Kuala Lumpur is overrun with foreigners are days of blessings.
“There are thousands of them, especially foreign workers like Nepalese and Bang-ladeshis. Taxi drivers make a lot of money picking up passengers from areas like Kota Raya and the numerous bus stands linking Kuala Lumpur to other parts of the country,†he said.
[…] deep into yourself and tell me you’re not racist if you believe […]
[…] foreign laborers increase the probability of crime, that most crimes are committed by foreigners. This is far from the truth and in fact, it is the locals that contribute to the level of crime rate we Malaysians currently […]
[…] of proof, perhaps resorting to racism. Furthermore, Malaysians including the authority are quick to attribute the increase in crime rate to lower class immigrants — not necessarily the Rohingya or any other ethnic groups from Myanmar […]