Asia's Forgotten Refugees. Part 5: Migrants in east Malaysia
Living in shantytowns on the coast of Sabah, politicians use them as phantom voters.
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These migrants are the people who federal politicians and their operatives use and discarded repeatedly as the phantom voters in a murky power-play for the resource-rich state that together with neighboring Sarawak on the island of Borneo provides a large chunk of Malaysia's revenue.
They are the unknown entities putting their votes in the ballot box in every election, especially since the 1990s and earning the enduring wrath of locals for disenfranchising them. The people of the state had invariably previously voted via their conscience and come out on the side of the opposition.
A 'Royal Commission of Inquiry' that was set up in 2012 to investigate the million or so illegal immigrants in Sabah confirmed that there was malfeasance but did not say by who.
The commission found that the voting system had been compromised by immigrants who were recruited to commit vote fraud in exchange for citizenship. A court ruling said as much when it declared an election result in 2001 null and void.
While thousands became legal overnight, thousands more are stateless. They are abused again and again by politicians, says lawmaker Darell Leiking.
It all began in the 1970s with a trickle of refugees escaping fighting in the southern Philippines. At the time Sabah's population was just over 600,000 and a Christian-majority state. The population is now over three million with a Muslim majority.
To put that in perspective, Sabah's population has grown 390 percent in 40 years and is about 11.3 percent of the total Malaysian population of 28 million according to 2010 census figures.
Illegal immigrants now outnumber locals. In May last year Prime Minister Najib Razak indirectly acknowledged the political takeover of Sabah when he said: "… To me, Sabah is still BN's [the ruling Barisan National coalition] fixed deposit," reported malaysiakini.com.
But little has changed for the refugees and immigrants who played a key role in this political changing of the guard.
One political operative who had a hand in the change is worried.
Pak Ismail insists his disquiet is not paranoia. The 70 something year old religious teacher is constantly on the look out for suspicious activity in his predominantly Muslim kampong on the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu.
"It was not like the old days when people respected each other. Now you leave your doors open and everything will be stolen — your TV, your CD player, everything," says Ismail.
The small house he shares with his wife, who is busy cooking in the kitchen, is secure. There are thick iron bars on the windows and an iron grill protecting the front door.
"It was not like this when I was young. Our houses were open and people came and went. We trusted everyone," he reflected.
"Drugs and no work," he says abruptly. "They've [the youth] got nothing to do so they take drugs and do crazy things. They steal to support their addiction," he adds.
It's the main reason he does not want 'outsiders', his code for illegal immigrants and refugees who are now inextricably woven into Sabah's social fabric, living in the vicinity.
Ismail conducts religious classes at the nearby mosque which are free for locals but immigrant children must pay a fee for admittance.
"They do not have discipline and can be dangerous. Not because they are radical but because that is their lifestyle," he says to explain his bias.
Shanty towns
There are some 350 houses in his kampong and the village committee vets potential newcomers. This is the reality Malaysia's unwanted immigrants live. With no where else to go, they set up home in shanty towns along the coast, in mangrove swamps and by construction sites. Ignored by successive governments, they have been left to fend for themselves.
They are at risk of exploitation, abuse and arrest. Police frequently carry out 'crime prevention' operations in squatter areas in and around the city.
Recently the city police chief disclosed that 11 men, seven women and 23 children aged between 14 and 55 had been detained in an operation. Two of the men tested positive for drugs, he said.
All are to be sent to detention centers were they can expect to be held for months with little food and water and the threat of beatings ever present.
Those living in the shantytowns where the raids were conducted will see further hardship. The state electricity utility disconnected the power supply to the area after the raids.
For Azimil, a young man building a small guardhouse beside a shantytown by the sea, the police raid and power cut is an inconvenience to be tolerated.
He sees some respite approaching.
"There may be an election soon and the politicians will protect us. The police raids will stop," he says confidently in hesitant Malay, the language spoken widely in the state.
Azimil is referring to what most openly acknowledge these days — elections are bought and sold in the state with the help of illegal immigrants.
While Azimil is counting on this, Leiking, who is from Sabah, hopes he will put an end to it.
Over the next few weeks, the lawmaker will attempt to get answers in parliament from the federal government on how it intends to give justice to both the migrants and the people of the state.
Source: UCAN
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