Migrants

As a reporter, especially one who is based in Sabah, I write about immigrants every few months or so. A majority of people here would tell you that immigrants, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia, are a pain. But I don't think like most. I like to look at things through a different eyeglass, and what I feel hardly goes down well with some friends when I bring this matter up.

Migrants are here for many reasons. Unrest at home, as in the case of southern Philippines, poverty, historical ties to communities who live here. I sometimes try to put myself in their situation. What if we have war here? What if I am so poor I can only have one simple meal a day? What if I see people dying around me? Wouldn't I take a tiny boat across raging seas to get a job? Then there are political reasons. I think most Sabahans know what I am talking about.

Like them or not, most foreigners are hardworking. I will bet my last Ringgit that the building you are sitting in now (at least here in Sabah) was built by a foreigner. The roads we drive on are built by foreign workers. Our airports, our ports ... you get the picture. They work hard in restaurants too, and I cant blame employers for hiring them. I often hear complaints that locals quit after a while and so that is why restaurant operators have to hire foreigners. I remember seeing a bunch of local boys fooling around at a restaurant near my office, they just refused to come over to take my order!

I also noticed that you cant find locals who do pedicures and manicures. Only Filipinas are willing to do clean people's toes and fingernails. There is nothing wrong with doing this job, but no, its too beneath some people. It brings in good money. Too bad many dont see that. I see young LOCAL girls and boys, not more than 15 or 16, getting drunk on cheap alcohol every weekend in Asia City and in front of Centre Point. Just last week, one girl was so drunk, she was crawling on the pavement, and when her guy friend pulled her up, she started kissing him right in front of a coffee shop. Makes you wonder.

Then there are (some) politicians who ... well, politicise everything. About a year ago, the Indonesian consulate opened a school in Alam Mesra, Kota Kinabalu, for children of Indonesian nationals. They did not have a choice. Although Malaysia is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child, which allows ANY child to go to school until the age of 12, children born to foreign parents are not allowed to, at least here in Sabah. I was amazed when a senior and seasoned politician from Parti Bersatu Sabah made a remark which was published in a local newspaper, that it was not right for the consulate to open a school. That it would erode the rights of locals. Hello? I think it would be better for this politician, and others who think like him, to go into the interior and help local children who dont have the best of education.

You know, I could just go on and on. Actually, this post was only triggered by my irritation at not being able to get anyone to clean my toes. I finally found one at the waterfront, and paid the lady RM35. You guessed it ... she is from the Philippines. And I say a big thank you to her.