The migration from the Indonesian Archipelago to the Malay Peninsula has to a large extent defined what Malaysia is today. I for one am a product of Bugis sailors (or pirates if you want to be more dramatic) stopping off the Malay Archipelago seeking to shelter from a storm on their way to Mecca? (if you want to be religious) …take your pick!
The British facilitated the migration of others to meet the manpower requirements of their colonial economic endeavors for their motherland, the then Great Britain. Throughout our history migration has given us the impetus we needed to develop as a nation. And now will migration be the cause of our nation’s collapse because political and not economical considerations is the primary consideration of this Barsan Nasional government driven by UMNO?
In the 1960’s Indonesian migration into Malaya was encouraged by UMNO to maintain a numerical advantage over the Chinese and the Indians. The May 13th riots provided the stimulus for the NEP which not only provided employment and economic opportunities for the Malays but also demanded an increase in Indonesian workers in order to meet labour shortage due to the rapid modernization of the Malaysian economy.
With the advent of the NEP, Malay youth began moving into the urban area. The dearth of rural labour was filled by Indonesians workers.
As Malaysia urbanize during the 1990’s Indonesian labour moved from agriculture to the construction and service industry. In 1997 Indonesian labourers earned $0.28 cents per day in their country versus RM$2 or more a day in Malaysia. The exodus of legal and illegal workers was unprecedented!
With the increase in the numbers of these Indonesian workers – both legal and illegal – the ad hoc manner by which the migration was being managed by the BN government became apparent.
This manifested itself by the authorities inability to monitor the situation when these Indonesian workers started to present a host of social problems that begun to plague Malaysia. At the same time Malaysia lacked the political will to enforce existing laws diligently. Why is this so?
The paradox of BN cronies being able to make more money out of these illegal immigrants even as more measures against these illegals are being enforced is testimony to the fact that where there is a Ringgit to be made, BN with its cronies, it’s rank and file and its attendant government officials will be there to partake in the spoils. What they did with their abuse of the Ketuanan Melayu they then did with this illegal Indonesian workers situation.
These opportunists facilitated the transportation of illegal Indonesian workers into Malaysia, provided them with accommodation and jobs, took part in the manufacturing and distribution of fake passports, identity cards and work permits without worry of persecution : all under the paternal gaze of its own BN government – complicit at the highest level, in its silence and lack of political will to do anything to police the worsening situation - all for financial gain!
Illegal immigration is big business – big enough to warrant the existence of an all consuming human trafficking syndicates with connections to politicians and government at the highest levels that “protect” them from any undue interference from the authority – who themselves would have a financial stake in the successful conclusion of these “business” undertakings.
Corruption and the manner in which bureaucracy works within the government does not in anyway assist the implementation and enforcement of any legislation already in place to manage the situation.
And so the stage was set for what we have today.
What has been a problem area for the government since Merdeka days has now become an opportunity to:
· Secure a massive voting bank for UMNO.
· Has become an ongoing source of income for
politicians and government authorities involved in
this illicit business.
What was once a source of worry for the Islamic traditions of Malaysia because most of the Indonesian here are Christians and are at time s engaged in the spreading of deviant Islamic teachings - these Indonesians are now “Bumiputras” for the purpose of political expedience.
What was once the cause of mob violence and riots inside and outside detention centres:
· The 17th January 2002 Nilai industrial estate riot involving over 400 Indonesian workers who torched buildings after police tried to detain 16 of their co workers for alleged drug abuse.
· The riot involving 70 Indonesian workers and stall owners in Cyberjaya on January 20th 2002.
· Other acts of social aggression, rape, robberies and murder
These are no longer jeopardizing the security of our country but instead these people will now be permanent residents with the right to vote (for UMNO!).
While the DAP and NGO’s had once championed these same Indonesian workers for being unjustly treated by the BN government, the same Indonesian workers are now coming back to bite the hand that feeds it by voting for UMNO.
In October 2001 the BN government passed legislation that capped work permits for foreign workers to three years specifically to address the frequency of criminal acts perpetrated by Indonesians migrants – changing immediately by that legislation, the status of those workers that carried six year work permits from legal to illegal.
- This resulted in riots at the Machap Umboo detention centre in Alor Gajah.
- Riot of 2000 illegal workers detained at Pekan Nenas detention center in Johore.
As a result flogging for illegal workers were ordered and detained illegals were sent home.
Under Malaysian rules stipulated in the Immigration Act (Amended) 2002, unauthorized workers can be sentenced to mandatory jail terms for up to five years, receive up to six strokes of the cane, and fined up to RM10 000. Malaysians who employ illegal migrant workers can be jailed for three months and fined RM5 000…and there was even the “Hire Indonesian Last” policy encouraged by the BN government.
All this has now come to pass and the BN government now welcomes these same illegal immigrants as a potential vote bank critical to UMNO’s survival in the 13th general election!
Can this really happen? Will UMNO do this just to win an election? Yes they will do this and more!
What we have in UMNO now is a wasteland of Malay leaders whose preoccupation is acquiring wealth and power. You need power to acquire wealth & and wealth to acquire power - a synergy that blurs itself into one definitive acronym: UMNO.
Is not the right to vote the most precious of a citizen’s right? And now this right to vote is cheapen because even those who come into this country illegally, does not speak Malay, knows nothing about Islam or our culture are now on par with us because UMNO need these votes for their political survival?
What a sad day for us. For our people. For the Malays, the Chinese, the Indians, the Dayaks, Ibans and all the people of our beloved country.
The immediate result will be an increase in voters numbers for UMNO as these grateful new citizens show their thanks to UMNO by voting for UMNO in the 13th GE. Immediate gains for UMNO to be traded against an uncertain future for us all?
How can consideration for national security be pushed aside to secure political gain for UMNO? Instead of putting into place policies to manage this potential threat to national security UMNO is legislating to “legalize” this threat for political considerations!
Let us recap:
There are probably up to one million illegal Indonesians currently employed in Malaysia without valid work permits and travel documents. Many have been involved in criminal activities enough for the Malaysian authorities to deem them as a threat to national security.
Indonesians make up 74% of legal and illegal foreign labour in Malaysia.
It was once estimated that up to 36% of prison inmates
throughout Malaysia were illegal Indonesian immigrants
What is more worrying is the involvement of these Indonesian workers in crimes and act of social aggression.
So now they become us.
With the right to vote!
Where do we go from here?
Into the depths of Belakang Mati obviously!