Why 'Africans' are being targeted at Ridzuan condo

Not every foreigner is unwelcome as a tenant in Ridzuan Condominium, said residents in explaining their “discomfort” in accepting the presence of ‘Africans’ on the property in Bandar Sunway, Selangor.

Those interviewed expressed support for the decision by the Joint Management Board (JMB) to ask ‘Africans’ currently renting units to leave within three months.

This is in spite of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan caution yesterday that racial profiling in the housing sector would send the wrong message to the international market.

"We can accept Muslim, Chinese, Thai, Filipino and even Pakistani and Saudis ... Asians don't cause trouble ... we can accept (everyone) but not Africans," a middle-aged man who only wanted to be identified as Lim told reporters outside the condo late yesterday.

"Proper human beings (would) go home and close (the) door, mind your own business ... you don't hang around and make noise.”

Asked why Africans have been singled out, Lim said one reason is because it is difficult to restrain them whenever they cause problems.

“They are so big (physically) that even three security guards cannot control them. The police came one time and could do nothing. If you are a property owner, you sure get angry, what?" Lim added in colloquial manner.

He further claimed that the price of units has dropped due to the presence of ‘Africans’ at the condo.

"(In nearby condos, a unit could go for RM450,000 to) over a million (ringgit). Here, (we can get) only RM300,000 and we have bigger units," he added.

Vijay, who has owned a unit for five years, said he suspects that the ‘Africans’ are drug pushers and pimps who are “perhaps using the condo as a transit place”.

"They are loitering 24 hours ... that shows that they are not working. Are they really students?" he asked.

"(Because of) their language, their way of talking and physique, people are not very comfortable (with them). In some cases, they like to target all the cute, cute women ...  (so) people just don't feel very comfortable.”

He claimed to have seen ‘Africans’ using drugs in playgrounds nearby and said he is concerned that they may now be encroaching into the condo.

‘Wrong characterisation’

The move has predictably irritated those of ‘African’ origin, particularly those who have not been responsible for any disturbance but who face the same eviction order.

"This is like open racism," said a Tanzanian architecture student, who declined to be named.

"Nigerians maybe, they have a bad image ... because of their size, they can seem arrogant and aggressive."

Fellow student Vilukshi, also an architecture student from Tanzania, said she was initially afraid of Nigerians but changed her mind after living with the community for five years in Malaysia.

"It was Nigerians, not the locals, who helped me when I couldn't get into the elevator one time," said Vilukshi, a fair-skinned ethnic Indian like her fellow-student.

Paul Kaen, a seven-foot tall Nigerian, has been a tenant at the condo for the last three months. He has lived in Malaysia since February 2011.

Having read the notice at the condo that refers to ‘Africans’ as being a “nuisance”, he expressed disgust.

“Most people (see) Africa from afar. We are human beings,you know, we are not animals," he said.

"You can't identify all bad people by race, nationality or skin colour. Even in Malaysia, some people are good, some people are bad ... the best thing to do is not ask everybody to vacate."
 
Mohammed Nurhu, a Nigerian who has rented a unit at the condo for three years now, agreed that there are some "troublemakers" from his country, but insisted that the JMB action is still wrong.

"What I have learnt about this country is once a black man is wrong, they classify it as all blacks are bad," said Nurhu, a business administration student.

He said the security guards should have been able to identify the troublemakers. As such, he questioned if the JMB’s blanket ban had been motivated by other factors.

“The problem is because of small-minded people. Most of these people, maybe they have not gone out of this country. People who have gone out of this country are not like this," he noted.

He added that visitors are often treated even better than locals in Nigeria, as is African culture, and that he is sad that the opposite is the case in Malaysia.