Shah Alam condo management bans long-staying foreigners

PETALING JAYA (Dec 2): The management of Alam Prima condominiums in Shah Alam, Selangor, says it is not against foreigners living there, despite it displaying banner over its main entrance clearly stating that foreigners are not welcome.

Alam Prima joint-management body (JMB) committee member Norhayaty Ariffin said that foreigners are allowed to stay but only for short periods.

“Foreigners can stay here as a guest but not for more than three months,” she said, explaining the banner at the lobby of the condominium that states: “‘Foreigner’, you are not welcome to stay here…!”

Norhayaty said that tenants should inform the management office of their long-stay foreign guests.

“It not compulsory for them to inform the management, but it would be good because we can inform other tenants, if they have enquiries about foreigners living there,” she said. The management did not allow the units to be converted into hostels, she added.

Norhayaty said that they banner would remain in place, and any enquiries about it could be directed to the management office.

“The banner was put up by the JMB together with the community here in 2012 when the tenants took vacant possession of their units,” she said.

In a recent letter to The Malaysian Insider, Wayne Parry, an Australian, said he was shocked to find the large sign in front of the entrance of the place he would be staying for a week.

“I found this address on Airbnb, a popular website for travellers who want to stay in local areas, as opposed to hotels. This is indeed a local area -- but it was not my intention to stay in a place where ‘foreigners are not welcome’.”

Parry said Australia had welcomed more than 100,000 Malaysians as part of their population, and that his home town of Melbourne had the second-largest immigrant Malaysian population in the world, next to Singapore.

“I am truly disgusted to see that a sign created by its building management can so blatantly show signs of racism. Although the message is not directed at me (it is clearly meant as a protest against international students from less developed countries), I find this to be a very sad example of ignorance and prejudice.

“I have noticed that this problem is predominant in areas such as this building, where nearly all the residents are of one particular ethnicity,” he said.

Parry said that he had seen similar examples here on public transport where one female staff member had used hateful language against an African passenger who was doing nothing wrong.

“Obviously, I don't experience any racism against me here because of the same level of ignorance. I am white, I am from a developed country and I am not a foreign worker. It is all the more reason to get annoyed by this double standard of what is clearly unacceptable behaviour.

“I will be warning all my friends from around the world to steer clear of areas such as Shah Alam when they visit Kuala Lumpur and to stay close to places that are more cosmopolitan, such as KLCC, Bukit Bintang and Damansara, where they can feel more comfortable,” he said. -- The Malaysian Insider