Asia - "Regretable" incidents may mar Malaysia's tourism bid

"I was walking in Chinatown," he told the BBC, "when a gentleman in very scruffy type clothes, nothing that you would associate with police or anyone in authority, walked up to me and asked me, "Can I see your passport?"."

Fearing a scam, Mr Wright refused and tried to move away.

"At that point he essentially lunged at me, grabbed me, put handcuffs on me really tightly and called for a few other people out in the crowd," he explained.

Mr Wright, a serving US Navy lawyer, says he protested that he was a US citizen and told the men who had grabbed him that his passport was in his hotel room, a matter of a few hundred meters away.

He was taken, shackled, through Chinatown and put into a caged truck used by the Malaysian immigration department.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6228125.stm

You're missing out one important bit:

It became abundantly clear to Mr Wright and Mr Nam they had more in common than their nationality. Both they and every one of the 30 or so other people arrested in the same raid were black.

Sad to say, but this kind of treatment is regretfully common in throughout South-East, where skin color is still associated with status (pale = idle upper class, dark = manual laborer). And they both could have avoided this by carrying their passport with them, which is required by law in Malaysia and most other countries in the region.

I very much doubt, based on the story, that having or not having a passport in your pocket had much of anything to do with the mal-treatment.

It appears to be just plain ole' racism. :td:

Why should we blame the victim of government discrimination in a police state? :(

Well, Malaysia is off my list :td:

I very much doubt, based on the story, that having or not having a passport in your pocket had much of anything to do with the mal-treatment.

It appears to be just plain ole' racism. :td:

Why should we blame the victim of government discrimination in a police state? :(

The fact that Wright didn't have his passport with him was definitely the reason for his maltreatment, not racism. There are many countries around the world which require you to have your passport with you at all times (though some let you get around this by carrying a photocopy of your picture page and the page your entry stamp is on). Not being able to identify yourself when being checked will make you suspicious.

Racism was, however, the reason he got checked in the first place. Malaysia has had some issues recently with illegal immigration from Africa, so anyone who is black is more likely to be checked, no matter what their nationality is.

So, as always, the truth is not black and white (no pun intended). It was the Malaysian immigration department's fault for treating any black person with suspicion - but it was Wright's fault for leaving his proof of legal immigration status (i.e. his passport) in his hotel.

And one more thing on the police state bit - foreigners in the US are not in any better position, since they are also required to have proof of their legal immigration status with them.

Lesson learned: keep your documents with you.

Malaysia has had some issues recently with illegal immigration from Africa, so anyone who is black is more likely to be checked, no matter what their nationality is.

There have been major problems with African visitors over here in the past. Majority of them are not tourists or legitimate businessmen. Most are conmen running all sorts of scams, and they can be quite rowdy and aggressive towards locals. Residents in certain parts of town were constantly harassed by them, and at one stage even the police were intimidated by these guys who are physically 3-4 times larger than the average local cop. You have to live in KL to appreciate the threat posed by this group of "visitors".

Having said all that, I dont think there is any excuse for the immigration officer to assume all black men to be African-troublemakers. I would have thought the American accent would be an indication the victim may well share the same nationality as Michael Jackson ;)

I would have thought the American accent would be an indication the victim may well share the same nationality as Michael Jackson ;)

I'm not sure this would help their case! :p

But seriously, accent is nothing to go by. When I lived in the US, I had a perfect American accent. After moving back to Germany, I've gotten a bit of a German accent back, but I think that would be gone fairly quickly if I were to move to the US again.

Also, when I lived in Mexico, people kept telling me that my sometimes limited vocabulary was the only way they could tell I was a foreigner - my accent was pure mexicano.

I also know a Swede who can pull off a Singaporean accent (including the required Singlish) perfectly. Quite a sight - this person is two metres tall and has blond hair and blue eyes. :D

Accent is really not something you can go by.

And one more thing on the police state bit - foreigners in the US are not in any better position, since they are also required to have proof of their legal immigration status with them.

Lesson learned: keep your documents with you.

The US certainly has its problems, but, police state wise, I am pretty sure Malaysia would come out way, way, way ahead. A quick google will turn up lots of info. For example, take a look at http://www.hrsolidarity.net/mainfile.php/1998vol08no08/1625/

IMHO, while we do not have enough facts to know (and no way to get any more facts) the police would likely have found a way to take this guy in, passport or no passport. Or, perhaps his passport would have "disappeared".

And one more thing on the police state bit - foreigners in the US are not in any better position, since they are also required to have proof of their legal immigration status with them.

Lesson learned: keep your documents with you.


I realise as a continental European you are brought up to accept the notion that the cops can stop you and demand ID at any time, but to those of us in the Anglo-Saxon world that just aint the case and most of us will fight for it never to be the case (despite what the crooks in Brussels try and make us do). If you took a moment to think about your statement on carrying "proof of status" in the US, I think you'd realise it is nonsense as a bone-fide US citizen or resident by definition wouldn't have to have that ID, so how could the cops tell them apart from the "aliens"?
Before taking pot-shots at the US, I suggest you look a little closer to home. The whole concept of Anmeldung is something a totalitarian state would be proud of. And as for the Auslaender Gesetz......

Disgusting treatment. :td: :td: This reminds me of some of the kind of nonsense that the predecessor of DHS/ICE used to pull in the 1980s in the US; it also reminds me of some of the filth going on in Russia (i.e., raids directed at ethnic Armenians, Georgians, Azeris, etc., including many who have been residents/citizens of Russia for decades).

.... and it's not just people of various ethnic African affiliations; this has happened to South Asians there too -- despite there being a pretty good number of Malaysian citizens of ethnic South Asian backgrounds.

The fact that Wright didn't have his passport with him was definitely the reason for his maltreatment, not racism.

I have no such confidence that racism wasn't the cause. Racism being the cause for hassle (i.e., including being checked for ID) wouldn't surprise me in the bit.

People of various ethnic European descent aren't being picked up en masse in these raids in Malaysia and aren't being as frequently asked for ID.

.... and it's not just people of various ethnic African affiliations; this has happened to South Asians there too -- despite there being a pretty good number of Malaysian citizens of ethnic South Asian backgrounds.

Not sure why you mentioned "South Asians" inparticular , it does happen to ALL Asians since the rise in number of immigrants working here in recent years.

Racism or not, I do feel a lot safer now in KL with the immigration dept cracking down on these African thugs though I feel sorry for the odd black Americans who were mistaken as Africans thugs.

Not sure why you mentioned "South Asians" inparticular , it does happen to ALL Asians since the rise in number of immigrants working here in recent years.

Racism or not, I do feel a lot safer now in KL with the immigration dept cracking down on those African thugs though I feel sorry for the odd black Americans who were mistreated.

I mentioned South Asians in particular because:

1. Malaysia has citizens who are of various South Asian ethnic origins (i.e., various parts of India going back a generation or four) and far more than it has Malaysian citizens of various African ethnic origins; and
2. I recall that some Indians visiting Malaysia were being roughed up along with some Malaysians of Indian origin, the latter of whom decided it was better not to make an issue about what happened to them; and
3. going back before that, I recall this http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EC13Df03.html too.

Probably could have mentioned various other Asian ethnicities, including Chinese, but the South Asian-related incidents is what came to mind as resulting in ridiculous outcomes.

Probably could have mentioned various other Asian ethnicities, including Chinese, but the South Asian-related incidents is what came to mind as resulting in ridiculous outcomes.

and Indonesians as well which forms the bulk of the immigrant workers here (both legal and illegal)

Apart from that incident which you mentioned above, raids on South Asians are rare compared to Indonesians which occurs almost every day at construction sites. An Indonesian on a motorbike is also more likely to be stopped by the police than a South Asian.

A South Asian is also less likely to encounter problem with immigration than say a Chinese visitor. I am still puzzled why you chose to highlight only incidents involving South Asians but not those of other nationalities. I am sorry but I do smell racism from those who screamed "racism" ;)

and Indonesians as well which forms the bulk of the immigrant workers here (both legal and illegal)

Apart from that incident which you mentioned above, raids on South Asians are rare compared to Indonesians which occurs almost every day at construction sites. An Indonesian on a motorbike is also more likely to be stopped by the police than a South Asian.

A South Asian is also less likely to encounter problem with immigration than say a Chinese visitor. I am still puzzled why you chose to highlight only incidents involving South Asians but not those of other nationalities. I am sorry but I do smell racism from those who screamed "racism" ;)

Your implied claim about me and your claim about being "puzzled why" strikes me as incorrect and disingenuous, respectively.

I answered your "why" in the post above yours. If you choose to disregard that or creatively interpret/misintrepet, that's not my fault nor does it say anything about me. Giving a genuine answer, in good faith, to a question and yet get disingenuine responses in return means that this discussion has nowhere to go. If you want me to go through producing a thesis of all the racism in the world, where should I start and end? That'd be a treatise or several in and of itself, and not something I plan to engage in on FT given constraints.