Destroying a Rohingya’s vegetable patch won’t solve Malaysia’s complex migrant problem

 

THE ANTI-ROHINGYA season appears to be at its peak. Anyone who follows the trending news on social media will undoubtedly come across the recent illegal flat at Sungai Tekali which has since drawn a good deal of attention.

Authorities already announced that the building will be demolished, but it appears this is just the start for the poor Rohingya migrants.

Fiery posts on the digital space have called for violence, deportation and all sorts of bad things for them, as though their current predicament as a nationless people isn’t terrible enough.

And here comes another video, showing vigilantes destroying an agriculture patch made by the Rohingya.

According to netizen @Y_X_sucks who posted the video, he claimed an illegal farm was built by the side of a football field. But looking at the size of it in the video, it appears to be no larger than a patch, or a private garden.

For some Malaysians, the incident symbolises growing frustration over what they perceive as weak enforcement of immigration laws and the increasing presence of undocumented migrants in local communities.

For others, however, the scene represented something else entirely—  desperate people trying to survive. 

For example, netizen @siodelta blames the UNHCR and the government for allowing them to spread about the country, adding that this is an indirect form of colonisation.

Also, @rusdi80913 sarcastically thanks the non-government organisations for supporting their entrance into Malaysia.

“You people live in ultra rich houses and don’t have to deal with them. Those who meet them are the people,” he added for good measure.

Thankfully, there are some sympathetic voices too. @syaz4u pointed out that they have to do whatever it is to survive and that many of them have already taken the available local jobs.

Also, the comment by @hundred_hands was succinct and straight to the point. 

Whether one supports stricter immigration enforcement or greater refugee protections, it is difficult to ignore a basic reality: people do not cultivate vegetables under the hot sun for fun. They do so because they need to eat.

The Rohingya issue is undoubtedly complex. Local communities have legitimate concerns about law enforcement, public resources and social cohesion. 

Those concerns deserve to be heard and addressed by the authorities. But there is a difference between demanding solutions and demanding suffering. — Focus Malaysia