AUGUST 19 — I could be wrong, but I’ve been noticing a minor (albeit growing) backlash against “beg-packers” i.e. foreign tourists (usually Caucasian) who go around asking, some even begging, for money.
You sometimes see them on the trains, walking from coach to coach giving out explanatory micro-brochures (explaining why they’re here or why they need cash) or selling trinklets.
You also sometimes see them playing flutes or guitars on the street and it’s like suddenly Malaysia has been invaded by gypsies.
Understandably all this pisses off many Malaysians. There are fewer things weirder in life than people from “rich” countries going to “poor” countries to beg for money.
There are fewer awkward occasions in the day than a “gweilo” coming up to you at Masjid Jamek station asking if you can buy some chicken-shit item for which you can’t imagine the use.
Nevertheless, there is a profound paradox here: For second-world citizens to be annoyed by first-world people begging in their country… is nothing short of a “first-world problem.”
But it’s not a big deal lah.
First, there aren’t that many of them. I think there are more Western evangelists than beggars on the trains (you know, those soldier-like leng chais carrying small black books?).
Second, the number of social problems they cause is practically zero. I have yet to read of any “beg-packers” stripping naked outside KLCC or harassing guests outside the Sheraton or making political speeches at Pasar Seni.
I have come across stories of drunken Western tourists causing trouble though, but these are usually not “beg-packers”; they’re just drunken idiots.
Essentially — and I’m not going to talk about other foreign communities which may be a greater source of social ills — the “beg-packers” aren’t the biggest culprits in the “social problems” area.
In fact, reading some comments on social media, there’s a case that many “beg-packers” are stigmatised for the mere fact of their white-ness - am I wrong?
Third, it’s strange how our values express themselves. If Jane Doe from Wales sets up an online fund-raising project to fund her trip to, say, Penang, everyone’s like “oh, that’s nice she wants to learn about countries other than her own” and “hey. check out her cool photos and story on the funding website.”
But if this same Jane Doe buys some cheap-ass ticket with the intention of “begging” her way from Penang to Johor (by, uh, singing Danny Boy at every street corner in George Town) suddenly we’re like “girl, you shouldn’t be doing this, you should’ve planned your entire trip from start to finish and not become an eye-sore (see Note 1) for everyday Malaysians.”
Finally, this brings me to the main problem Malaysians seem to have with “beg-packers”: That they’re a nuisance and very annoying.
Seriously?
In that case, other groups I’d like to remove would be the hordes of credit-card promoters in malls, or the obsessed drivers during rush hour who will not let you switch into your required lane, or the average social justice warrior scolding others who aren’t as politically correct as him/her.
Could there be another Malaysian response to “beg-packers” apart from annoyance?
I knew a family who, each time they ate in places like an open air food court, would happily allow homeless folks to sit with them and have a free meal.
Maybe more Malaysians could try that with our “beg-packing” guests? Since we’re all about diversity? How about we appreciate a diversity of, uh, “travelling styles”?
Note 1: On the issue of “eye-soreness”, I wonder if the average Malaysian eye is already used to the many drug addicts, homeless, sick and disabled people living in the alleys along Jalan Alor, Jalan Raja Laut, Jalan Petaling and so on.
Wouldn’t it be strange if we were more bothered about foreign “beg-packers” than about caring for these multitudes of folks, many of whom have Malaysians ICs?
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
