Penang folk worried about foreign workers

GEORGE TOWN (Nov 5): State Housing Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo (pictured) has been receiving increasingly more complaints from Penang residents about the problems they face from foreign workers living in their areas.

“I’ve had people come to my office crying because of the social problems they face when blue-collared foreign workers live among them,” Jagdeep told The Star paper recently.

Jagdeep revealed that a Universiti Sains Malaysia study found that up to 30,000 foreigners were living in housing estates in Juru, reported the English daily.

He said that the housing needs of the foreign workers in the state must be catered to prevent problems.

Jagdeep also added that these workers “were the backbone of the economy because they were willing to do menial jobs that did not attract locals”.

“We must then look into their housing needs too. When residential areas are exclusively dedicated to foreign workers, they are free to express their own socio-cultural uniqueness,” Jagdeep explained.

According to the same report, single mother Julia Choong said her 16-year-old was harassed by foreign workers.

“They like to go near her and ask her where she is from.

“Only when my daughter speaks will they realise she is Malaysian and leave her alone,” said Choong.

She said she “is one of thousands of Penangites who have to put up with the inconveniences of having blue-collared foreign workers living in their midst”.

Choong lives in an apartment development in Mount Erskine.

Meanwhile, Johnny Lee from Macallum Street Ghaut said foreign workers have also been causing problems near his home.

He said factory buses entering the area to pick up the foreign workers create traffic problems

“They block the road and we cannot do anything but wait. You can’t honk at the buses because the drivers will scream at you.

“Many of them love to throw rubbish down the air wells too. They just can’t be bothered to take their rubbish down,” he said.