Blanket ban on ‘African’ tenants unfair, dialogue needed, says state rep

PETALING JAYA, Aug 27 — An all-out ban against Africans as tenants may backfire on Malaysians, PKR’s Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad has suggested, and pledged to meet with the condominium management that moved to drive out renters from the continent last week.

The assemblyman for Seri Setia, the state constituency where the controversial Ridzuan Condominium is located, said he would arrange for a meeting soon with the apartment residents and the authorities to facilitate a peaceful solution to the simmering row that has taken on a racial slant that may become a diplomatic concern unless handled properly.

“I’ve always tried to tell (my constituents) that my stand is, it’s unfair. We cannot have a blanket ban... If we’re overseas we don’t want to be treated that way,” Nik Nazmi (picture) told The Malay Mail Online here, referring to racial discrimination.

“I will discuss with them on the matter, together with the authorities, for residents to feel safe and at the same time be fair to foreign tenants,” he said.

He added that he would be calling on the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), a commissioner of buildings, the Immigration Department and the police to help mediate in the occupancy problem the condominium’s local residents seem to have with foreigners.

The Malay Mail Online had yesterday reported the unprecedented occupancy ban imposed last week by the management of Ridzuan Condominium in Bandar Sri Subang here against “African” tenants, telling the renters they have three months to vacate their units.

The decision came after the majority of the condominium’s residents voted at an annual general meeting held on July 6 against renting their units to foreigners from the continent, whom they allege to have “caused a lot of nuisance”.

According to Nik Nazmi, residents in his constituency have filed countless complaints not just against tenants from Africa, but also those from Indonesia and mainland China.

The state lawmaker believes there may be some grounds for the residents’ wariness to the foreigners living in their midst, noting the regularity of non-Malaysians being caught by the police during their swoops to clean up the area of undocumented immigrants, crime suspects and for other related illegal activities.

“I would state strongly that it’s very important first that we should not racialise the issue... If anyone commits a crime, we should look at it case by case,” he said.

Most of the complaints, he said, were against foreigners who tended to crowd their apartment units with groups of 10 people, sometimes even 20 to a unit.

The disproportionate number of tenants in high-rise homes dotting the area had inadvertently caused common facilities such as elevators to suffer more damage, he noted.

“Once one community comes in, they will tell their members to come and stay in the area... When there are a lot of tenants, less propensity to pay for maintenance,” said Nik Nazmi.

He noted that the bulk of the complainants were from property owners who also resided in the condominium and felt their rights as citizens had been ignored.

The second-term assemblyman’s call was reflected in a similar statement issued today by his political foe from Umno, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

The urban wellbeing, housing and local government minister had advised Malaysians against sending the “wrong signal” to the world with the ban.

“To say that every African is a troublemaker is grossly unfair... I think we need to ensure there is no racial profiling, it’s dangerous,” Abdul Rahman told reporters after delivering a keynote address at a National Housing and Property Summit here.

Calling the restriction “crazy”, Abdul Rahman urged concerned owners and management boards to deal with problematic tenants on a case-by-case basis.

The Ridzuan Condominium ban may be the first attempt of its kind reported in Malaysia after years of alleged discrimination and hostility towards the oft-maligned African community, including in the mainstream media.

Despite being a continent of 54 countries with diverse and distinct ethnicities, cultures, languages and societies, its migrants are commonly pigeonholed using the “African” catchall, while the derogatory label “Awang Hitam” (literally, Black Fellow) is also used by Malay-language dailies in reference to their dominant skin colour.

The negative perception towards African migrants in Malaysia is believed to stem from the frequency of cases of drug smuggling, financial scams, frauds and sex crimes reportedly involving the group.

The Immigration Department reported that a total of 79,352 Africans entered the country last year.

The department also issued 25,467 student visas to Africans in 2012 to study in public or private institutions.

In view of this development, I suggest an emergency meeting of NIDO-MY executive to discuss on ways to respond to it.

Kingsley Efobi.O
PRO
NIDO-MY