Xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

is one of the serious problems in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, as it is shown from almost every citizens of the country. It is a part of

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

, but xenophobia occurs regardless of race. Most of xenophobia are often targeted at foreign labourers, who normally came from countries such as

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. There is also a significant degree of xenophobia towards neighbouring

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

ans and

ns as well. Discrimination against those of African descent and East Malaysian people has also been reported.Mostly Malaysian xenophobia people are from Malay peninsular (West Malaysia) than in East Malaysia.

Examples

Jobs

Malaysia applies a xenophobic labouring law that tries to prohibit hiring foreigners in any sections of jobs. Each companies are not allowed to hire foreigners unless if there's no locals want to apply for the job. Due to high rate of xenophobia, foreigners are often failed to apply for both full-time and part-time jobs. Even part-time jobs are normally "Malaysian ONLY".

Tourism

In most Malaysian tourist facilities, foreigners often need to pay significantly more than locals, including at prominent landmarks. However, signs are not normally as explicit with mentions of "either Malaysian or not" but rather "either MyKad (Malaysian identity card) or not".

Social media

In social media (Facebook for instance), there are frequent expressions of dislike for specific nationalities, especially against individuals from

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and

By states

Penang

In 2014, Penang state government held a referendum that banned foreigners from cooking local cuisines. And in this referendum, most of people said "YES". This laws are criticised by foreigners. A well-known local chef, Redzuawan Ismail, also criticised this law.

Johor

In Johor, there are often complaints about Singaporeans who cross the border to take advantage of cheaper prices due to the weaker currency of Malaysia as compared to Singapore, blaming them for causing the prices in the state, especially Johor Baru, to increase significantly. As a result, Singaporeans who visit Johor are often targets of crime, especially robbery such as motor vehicle theft (Singaporean vehicles has a distinctive license plate) as well as

snatch theft Snatch theft is a criminal act, common in Southeast Asia, South America, and Southern Europe, of forcefully stealing a pedestrian's personal property by employing rob-and-run tactics. Description It is typical for two thieves to work together a ...

References

{{Southeast Asia topic, Xenophobia in Racism in Malaysia Xenophobia in Asia