PETALING JAYA, Aug 27 — A condominium management’s recent ban on leasing property to African tenants drew fire today from minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who warned Malaysians against sending the “wrong signal” to the world.
The minister of urban wellbeing, housing and local government said racial profiling has no place in Malaysia, especially in the property market.
“To say that every African is a troublemaker is grossly unfair... I think we need to ensure there is no racial profiling, it’s dangerous,” Abdul Rahman told reporters after delivering a keynote address at a National Housing and Property Summit here.
The Malay Mail Online had yesterday reported the unprecedented occupancy ban imposed last week by the management of Ridzuan Condominium in Bandar Sri Subang here against “African” tenants, telling the renters they have three months to vacate their units.
The decision came after the majority of the condominium’s residents voted in an annual general meeting (AGM) held on July 6 against renting their units to foreigners from the continent, whom they allege to have “caused a lot of nuisance”.
Abdul Rahman related today that he knows a number of residents hailing from African countries who not only pay their rents on time, but also contribute to the neighbourhood.
Calling the restriction “crazy”, Abdul Rahman urged concerned owners and management boards to deal with problematic tenants on a case-by-case basis.
The minister also stressed that Putrajaya will not be regulating the property market against foreign buyers despite concerns that they are driving house prices up.
“I don’t think foreigners buying property is a huge problem. I also understand that the purchase is essential to give liquidity to the market,” the Kota Belud MP said.
According to Abdul Rahman, foreign buyers make up only 5.5 per cent of total owners in Malaysia, and they usually go for the high-end market rather than low-cost or affordable housings.
The Ridzuan Condominium ban may be the first attempt of its kind reported in Malaysia after years of alleged discrimination and hostility towards the oft-maligned African community, including in mainstream media.
Despite being a continent of 54 countries with diverse and distinct ethnicities, cultures, languages and societies, its migrants are commonly pigeonholed using the “African” catch-all, while the derogatory label “Awang Hitam” (which literally means “Black Fellow” in Bahasa Malaysia) is also used by Malay-language dailies in reference to their dominant skin colour.
The negative perception towards African migrants in Malaysia is believed to stem from the frequency of cases of drug smuggling, financial scams, frauds and sex crimes reportedly involving the group.
But it is also not a local stereotype.
The ubiquity of online confidence tricks involving Nigerians, in particular, saw the global law enforcement community dub such swindles as the “Nigerian 419 scam”, with 419 being a reference to the country’s Criminal Code for fraud.
Malaysia’s Immigration Department reported that a total of 79,352 Africans entered the country last year.
The department also issued 25,467 student visas to Africans in 2012 to study in public or private institutions.
