Immigrant Workers In Malaysia

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What are the causes of prejudice against immigrant workers from Asian countries in Malaysia? Immigrant workers as of now originate from more than 12 nations in Asia, with a large number of them originating from Indonesia. Other real source nations are incorporated of workers from Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Philippines (Jr. 1). In 1990 there were around 380,000 immigrant workers in Malaysia as Labour Force Survey (LFS) information. The number expanded to around 2.1 million in 2010. Implying that 25% to 30% of the workforce comprise of immigrant labourers nowadays (Carpio, Arulpragasam and Yu 16). The government trust that bringing workers from other countries could be the key for a bright future of…show more content…
One of the causes of prejudice against migrant workers is xenophobia that is experienced by Malaysians. Malaysians are xenophobic because they feel unsafe with the influx of immigrant workers. The government’s idea to admit another 1.5 million Bangladeshis into the Malaysian workforce has caused a stir within the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) additionally among the Malaysians. Considering the quantity of labourers from Bangladesh officially here in Malaysia, another 1.5 million will bring the count to around three million. Even the total existing population of Indians, Malaysia’s third biggest ethnic group, has not achieved three million and this situation is very worrying as it could disrupt Malaysia’s diversity (Lau). Malaysians…show more content…
The most obvious difference between these immigrant workers is their countries of origin. For instance, immigrant workers who came to Malaysia from other Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia or Myanmar are categorized as low-skilled workers while the Westerners, are categorized as high-skilled workers. In this way, most Malaysians see the Westerners as a "superior" group of individuals to blend with (Why Are We Mean Towards Foreign Workers?). Another difference is in terms of culture. Malaysian National Defence University (UPNM) counselling psychology expert Prof Datuk Dr. Mohamed Fadzil Che Din felt that albeit a portion of the outsiders was highly educated, their differentiating culture could influence the way of life of the locals, subsequently exposing Malaysians to social interaction risks that might be impeding to future eras. The circumstance could get all the more disturbing, said Mohamed Fadzil, if local people were pressured into learning and acclimatizing the culture spread by the migrant workers. Despite the fact that they contribute to the growth of the country, some of them practice their negative culture of littering and poor cleanliness (themalaysiantimes.com.my). Therefore, the differences in term of countries of origin and cultures have caused the Malaysians

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