Foreigners in Our Own Country

Below is an excerpt of Sheridan Mahavera’s interview with political economist Andrew Aeria. Immigration control between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah/Sarawak. Although agreed to by the decision-makers in 1963, I think these controls have served to divide us and our common imaginings of a united nation. Where in the self-respecting democratic world — apart from Malaysia — does a country have internal immigration controls that limit the rights of movement and rights of citizens to work? Such controls not only run contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (and arguably also our Federal Constitution) but also have a negative impact upon the psyche of those who travel between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah/Sarawak. They only reinforce the perception of division and difference instead of unity.

Immigration controls in Sabah/Sarawak may have been perceived as necessary back in 1963 because Sabah/Sarawak feared being overwhelmed by an influx of immigrants from Peninsular Malaysia. And yet, the statistical record suggests that more Sabahans and Sarawakians have travelled to the peninsula over the years to work and settle down there than vice versa. So, why do the state governments of Sabah/Sarawak continue maintaining immigration controls when they don’t even serve the original purpose they were enacted for?

As well, times and thinking have changed. Restricting the movement and work of Malaysian citizens in an era of globalisation is potentially suffocating for the economies of Sabah/Sarawak and Malaysia as a whole. How do you attract talent to help develop local economies if Malaysians are treated as foreigners in their own country having to renew their work permits every year or once every two years? In the meantime, retired pensioners from Europe, Australia and Japan are given 10-year Malaysia My Second-Home Visas to settle down in Sabah and Sarawak without all the immigration hassles! Further, what does this say to citizens and pensioners from Peninsular Malaysia who wishes to settle down in beautiful Sabah and Sarawak? Presently, under the immigration controls, this right to settle down in Sabah/Sarawak is not available to Peninsular Malaysians even if we have worked here for decades. Thus, immigration controls in Sabah/Sarawak no longer serve any meaningful purpose. If anything, they only serve to reinforce the mental and psychological divides in our mind instead of building up a sense of oneness and emotional belonging. It is time we removed these barriers to unity if we truly believe in the idea of 1 Malaysia. Otherwise, we perpetuate division. But obviously, the dull thinking of our politicians (and judges) have not changed much since 1963 since they maintain immigration control for reasons best known to themselves and justified by their own unfathomable logic. After all, Parliament has amended our constitution numerous times over the last 46 years to suit evolving times and situations. Thus, to claim that we cannot remove immigration controls because it is a 1963 constitutional provision is a genuinely lame excuse. Like I said earlier, times and thinking have changed.

It is indeed strange for Malaysians to have to produce their passports and apply for work permits to enter and work in another Malaysian state. If 1Malaysia means every Malaysian is equal, then this ridiculous immigration policy has to be scrapped. I once flew from Kuching to KK via Sibu. While on transit in Sibu I had to disembark, exit the arrival hall at Sibu airport and re-enter the departure hall before getting back on the plane. I don’t know what the whole process was all about but whatever it is, it’s definitely a charade!

Some of the policies, processes and procedures in this country are so ridiculous it borders stupidity. Immigration restriction between Peninsular and east Malaysian states is only one of the many examples.
What about Bumiputers quotas and discounts for house purchases? Why is that a Bumi who can afford a RM500,000 house is given a 7% discount? If the guy can afford a house costing half a million, he doesn’t deserve a discount, Bumi or not! Why is a poor Bumi earning RM2,000 per month gets a discount to buy a house while a poor non-Bumi who earns the same amount has to pay 5-7% more for his house?

How does a single race university (UiTM) help develop global competitiveness? If the students are only restricted to a single race why is the university employing other races as lecturers and professors?

The truth, they say is stranger than fiction. I say, the truth can be quite mind boggling.