ULAB 2122

LANGUAGE ACADEMY

SEMESTER I 2017/2018 SESSION

ULAB 2122 ADVANCED ACADEMIC ENGLISH SKILLS

TERM PAPER FINAL DRAFT

TITLE
DREADFUL INVASION OF IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES

NAME 1 : SADID AL MAHDI BIN SURYONO

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NAME 2 : MUHAMMAD AQIL AFZAL BIN ROSLEE
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FACULTY/SECTION NUMBER : FACULTY OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT (FAB)/ 05
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NAME OF LECTURER : PUAN HAFILAH ZAINAL ABIDIN
MARKS : 20 MARKS
DUE DATE : 13 DECEMBER 2017

This paper contains __9 printed pages including the cover page.

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Dreadful Invasion of Immigrants and Refugees

The influx of immigrants and refugees has become a concern to the government,
NGOs and immigration to handle this issue. There are about 2.1 million registered
migrant workers were called as legal foreign workers while the illegal foreign
workers are larger in number around three million according to the Human
Resources Ministry (The Straits Times, 2017). The 11th Malaysian Plan had
stipulated that the ratio of foreigners in the country’s labor market must not exceed
15 per cent, or 2.1 million. The presence of multitude of illegal foreign workers had
save the ratio that had reached a jaw dropping 43 per cent that far beyond what the
labor market actually requires. In 31 May 2017, according to Minister in the Prime
Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim the amount of refugees are
94,361 while the remaining 55,843 were asylum seekers. He reported that 10
countries made up the majority of refugees and asylum seekers, with the highest
coming from Myanmar with 133,725 people, followed by Pakistan 3,548, Sri Lanka
2,328, Yemen 2,095, Somalia 2,062, Syria 1,980, Iraq 1,461, Afghanistan 1,082,
Palestine 698, and lastly Iran with 440 (NST Online, 2017). Malaysia began a host
country for refugees in 1975 when Vietnamese refugees began to arrive by boat in
Malaysia and other neighboring countries. As end of April 2017, there are about
150,662 refugees registered with the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and there are about 89 percent are
persecuted ethnic groups from Myanmar, Rohingya, Myanmar Muslims, Rakhine
and Arakanese (10 Facts About Refugees in Malaysia, 2017). The increasing
number of immigrants and refugees greatly give massive impact towards this
country and should be controlled because of the negative impact towards economy,
social and environment.

Government has spent money to immigrants and refugees that need food, water,
shelter and other basic sources to make them comfortable and safe when living in
this country. As of 2015, the Malaysian government has pledged to shelter 3,000
Syrian refugees. Apart from that, the Syrians will be given a temporary permission
to work and permission to attend school in this country. 1,100 Syrian refugees are
already in Malaysia and this programs seeks to resettle more new refugees in the

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future (10 Facts About Refugees in Malaysia, 2017). According to Malaysian

Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed the problem that need to tackle are by
giving them a status to stay in Malaysia and how to allow them to work in Malaysia
and how about their accommodation, needs and the rest (Channel News Asia, 2017).
Other than that, immigrants could cause competition of jobs to the local people.
Immigrants triggered the competition especially to the locals to get the same job
and it can be portray as the wages for the immigrants is much cheaper compared to
the local people. As the situation continues, the employers tend to hire the
immigrants or refugees because of cheaper wages and the willingness of immigrants
and refugees to become their workers, as they needed to support themselves and
their families. Correspondingly, this will create high unemployment and increase
poverty for the locals thus caused unemployment rate increased among the local
workers and at the same time it possibly give Malaysia a challenged for preparing
the nation towards high income country (Moona Haji Mohamed & Ramesh Kumar,
2012).

Moreover, the excessive number of immigrants and refugees is seen as a

security threat as it associated with rising of crime rate. Immigrants and refugees
cause an increment in criminal activities. Social crime such as robbery, snatch theft,
rape, murder and recently internet and online scams involving especially
immigrants from Africa. The locals need to take serious action of this issues to
protect everyone life from becoming the victims. Besides, the African scams had
become hot issues in this country where they were stealing money from their
victims. The African involved in scamming people by targeting the local people as
their victim. From 27 September to 5 October thirteen Africans was arrested due to
syndicate of African scams that operating in this country. According to the Federal
Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Commander Datuk
Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani he also reported that received 35 similar reports
involving losses of around RM941700 (The Star Online, 2017). Next, the
communication problem among immigrants who cannot communicate between
employers causes misunderstandings in working field. This problem often occurs
towards immigrants or refugees which do not have any basic language to
communicate with their employers which lead to difficulty in giving instructions to
them. When the information failed delivered, it can cause variety of problems that

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can affect their safety in the workplaces. The phenomenon of influx of foreign
workers starting in early 1980 has affected the language problem issue especially
in the construction industry that had caused unpredictable accident. Then, the
different of culture can lead to other problems that they bring to the host country is
their culture which is not compatible and cannot be assimilated in our culture. For
example the Indonesian Lombok culture where eloped is seen as a heroic act
contradicts from our local culture. For the Lombok culture it is a norm for a Lombok
man to elope and marry someone’s daughter to signify his manhood action or
heroism. In contrast, this kind of act is a taboo and unlawful in Malaysia that commit
offences and can be arrested (KAHWIN LARI SATU KESATRIA LELAKI
LOMBOK, 2017).

From environment perspective, immigrants and refugees cause spreading of

disease to this country. Malaysia had eliminated some diseases such as
Tuberculosis, Polio but immigrants and refugees have no immunization for this
diseases that exposed to risks. Some of them already being infected by diseases and
they brought to this country thus spreading the diseases to the local people. The
illegal immigrants had not gone through any health screening and those who
infected with Tuberculosis would infect local residents with the bacteria. As being
stated from the Health Deputy Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya, the causes
behind the spreading of tuberculosis (TB), came from the illegal immigrants that
entered into the country. The influx of immigrants and refugees also brings
environmental impact to the host community. In addition, increased of refugee
camp populations could contribute to triggering soil erosion, water depletion, loss
of habitat and wildlife, air pollution, and contamination, as well as energy and
transportation problems (UNHCR, 2017). This will deplete the host country
resources that can be used for their people’s too received the benefit of it.

Subsequently, the immigrants or refugees have the advantages helping in

increasing our country economy by fulfilling emptiness of jobs in this country.
Foreign workers were recruited to overcome the labour shortage in the urban areas
especially the low end three D jobs (dirty, difficult and dangerous) in construction
and services that were still unpopular with local workers (AzizahKasim,2007). This
due to the local people who have benefited from their formal education which

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preferred for them to migrate to towns and work in paid employment especially in
the formal economy as well as some of them who are unwillingly to take the low
end three D jobs. Besides, the refugee workers often face exploitation by employers
who take advantage of their situation, paying them low wages or no wages at all
(“10 Important Facts to Know About Refugees in Malaysia”, 2017) which we
portrayed it as an oppression towards them. Thus, even in the economic studies
shown that a 10% net increase in low-skilled foreign workers could raise Malaysia’s
GDP by 1.1% and create employment and increase wages for most Malaysians.
(Moreno, R. M., 2016). This shown even the immigrants nor refugees capable of
contributing towards the local economy effect in the host country.

Then, about the admission of irregular immigrants that created problems in the
host country which could infuse the other immigrants and refugees who not
admitted any crimes that contribute to diverting perspectives to the locals. This can
be portrayed as the refugees started to be a threat because they are lumped together
with irregular immigrants (Pendatang Tanpa Izin (PATI)), (AzizahKasim, 2007).
This shows that not all immigrants and refugees that stay in the host country could
bring the negative social impacts. Plus, some of them got slanted by the media as to
accumulate the problems created by the irregular immigrants as whole issue in one
perspective of the immigrants and refugees in this country (Don, Z. M., & Lee,
C.,2014). Besides, even in some public statements made by Ministers at the state
and federal levels where the status of the refugees was contested such as from Syed
Hamid Albar, the Minister of External Affairs (1999) had stated that in the
newspaper that Malaysia allows the immigrants to stay temporary, but they must go
back when the stay is over and never granted anybody refugee status regarding the
equating of refugees with illegal immigrants. (Malaysia/Burma: Living In Limbo-
Malaysia’s Treatment Of Undocumented Rohingya”, 2017).

Moreover, the concern of the immigrants’ disease spreading through

propaganda blitz where it creates a self-speculation on the common perception of
an association between migration and the importation of infectious diseases cause
a misleading information from politicians to everyone cause spamming the
spreading of everything from Ebola and EV-D68 to worms. This kind of effect
instills fear in people towards immigrants and refugees for no good reason due to

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propaganda blitz. Then, there was an outbreak of measles among a Somali

community in Hennepin County, Minnesota in 2011, involving 14, mostly
unvaccinated people but they were unvaccinated because the anti-vaccine crowd
(Wakefield) scared them away from being vaccinated over fears of autism, not
because they were recent refugees. (“Are Immigrants and Refugees Spreading
Disease in the United States?”, 2017). Thus, showing that mindset of certain people
or association could lead towards a false accusation and information regards to the
immigrants and refugees who lived peacefully in the host countries. Then, as a
world leader in health promotion and disease prevention, Centre for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) works with immigrant, refugee, and migrant groups to
improve their health by providing guidelines for disease screening and treatment in
the United States and overseas, tracking and reporting disease in these populations
responding to disease outbreaks in the United States and overseas, advising U.S.
partners on health care for refugee groups, educating and communicating with
immigrant and refugee groups and partners. (Immigrant and Refugee Health, 2016).
In Malaysia, even the Ministry of Health has enforced the Hospitalisation and
Surgical Scheme for Foreign Workers in 2011, providing a mandatory medical
coverage for all foreign workers with a premium of RM120 and a total coverage of
RM10, 000. Until now, up to RM20 billion has been subsidised by the government
for the health care of foreign workers but unfortunately, this treatment has not been
given to the illegal immigrants due to the irresponsible handling of some agents and
middlemen, causing a major TB outbreak in our country (“Illegal Immigrants: Are
They A Threat To Our Health?", 2017)

Last but not least, the issues that had been raised is vital to be argued based on
the arguments that have been portrayed to show the significance of the immigrants
and refugees which could bring the negative impacts towards the host country that
burdens the economy, social, plus, the environmental itself. This kind of issues is
inevitable if the country has an open policy regarding borders and migration that
should be consider the consequences, especially in a long-term effect. This shows
that limiting or stopping any admission of the immigrants and refugees in the
country, Malaysia should be emphasized as it could reduce any external or internal
effect like the surrounding environment and pressure given to the host country as
we continued giving the hospitality towards them. Maybe some countries like

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Malaysia cannot afford to accommodate more than it can for these immigrants and
refugees but the other developed countries, they might do, so in the end they still
contribute into a negative effect as well as perspectives they created towards the
locals eventually.
In a nutshell, a blink of the future if this country is continuing support the
immigrants and refugees by openly giving them to seek protection, for sure our
country will be flooding, with the imbalance of population resides in the long run.
The issues and problems of jobs opportunity and citizenship will be escalating
eventually. Plus, if there are no any mitigation measures to curb the issues so in the
future they might do some marching and strike the host country to give them some
equity as their long present and contribution that some of them had served the
country for many years. Thus, it will create more issues and unsatisfactory about
their needs which that we need to consult although we should have more concern
on our own citizens who still in a great poverty life condition.

REFERENCES

10 Facts About Refugees in Malaysia. (2017). [Blog] The Blog. Available at:
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AzizahKassim. (2009). Filipino Refugees in Sabah: State Responses, Public

Stereotypes and the Dilemma Over Their Future. Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 47,
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Channel News Asia. (2017). Malaysia welcomes first group of Syrian asylum
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Don, Zuraidah Mohd, and Charity Lee. (2014) “Representing Immigrants as
Illegals, Threats and Victims in Malaysia: Elite Voices in the Media.” Discourse &
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Immigrant and Refugee Health. (2016, June 22). Retrieved November 22, 2017,
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Illegal Immigrants: Are They A Threat To Our Health? (2017). Malaysian Digest.
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