Xenophobia in Malaysia explained

Xenophobia in Malaysia is the fear or hatred of any cultural group that is perceived as being foreign, and is often closely linked to racism.[1] In Malaysia, xenophobia is often targeted at foreign labourers who normally come from countries such as Bangladesh and Indonesia.[2] [3] There is also a significant degree of xenophobia towards the neighbouring Singaporeans and Indonesians. Discrimination against those of African descent and East Malaysian people has also been reported. The majority of Malaysian xenophobic people are from Malay peninsular (West Malaysia) than in East Malaysia. [4]

By states

Penang

In 2014, Penang state government held a referendum that banned foreigners from cooking local cuisines.[5] And in this referendum, most of people said "YES".

These laws are criticised by foreigners.[6] A well-known local chef, Redzuawan Ismail, also criticised this law.[7]

Johor

In Johor, there are often complaints about Singaporeans who cross the border to take advantage of cheaper prices due to the weaker currency of Malaysia as compared to Singapore, blaming them for causing the prices in the state, especially Johor Baru, to increase significantly. As a result, Singaporeans who visit Johor are often targets of crime, especially robbery such as motor vehicle theft (Singaporean vehicles has a distinctive license plate) as well as snatch theft.[8]

See also

References

  1. Web site: International Migration, Racism, Discrimination and Xenophobia . August 2001 . International Labour Office; International Organization for Migration; Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights . 2 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190331201752/https://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/migration/taskforce/docs/wcar.pdf . 31 March 2019.
  2. Book: International Labour Organization . Public attitudes towards migrant workers in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand . December 18, 2019 . 9789220314289 . 11 August 2024.
  3. Web site: Uproar over intake of Bangladeshi workers exposes rampant xenophobia in Malaysia. asiancorrespondent.com. 11 June 2017. 1 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042442/https://asiancorrespondent.com/2016/02/uproar-over-intake-of-bangladeshi-workers-exposes-xenophobia-in-malaysia/. dead.
  4. Web site: NYT: Malaysia has xenophobia towards Africans. 11 June 2017.
  5. News: Penang to ban foreign cooks at hawker stalls in bid to safeguard food heritage. migration. The Straits Times . 24 October 2014. 11 June 2017.
  6. Web site: Penang bans foreign cooks at hawker stalls - Poskod Malaysia. 28 October 2014. 11 June 2017.
  7. Web site: Penang bans foreign cooks at hawker stalls. ifonlysingaporeans.blogspot.my. 11 June 2017. 2014-10-27.
  8. Web site: Alkhatib . Shaffiq . 'It was the longest 10 minutes of my life': Singaporean bashed and robbed on highway in Johor . www.straitstimes.com . 19 June 2022 . en . 4 November 2016.

Further reading

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Xenophobia in Malaysia".

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