Over 200 residents of Juru, Penang, are protesting the proposed construction of a 32-storey foreign worker dormitory project there.
They believe that the presence of the dormitory in the area will result in crimes and their safety being threatened by the crowding of foreigners, in addition to the potential of social problems and traffic congestion.
According to a report by Berita Harian, 39-year-old resident Danny Tan who has been living in the area for the past 10 years, shared that he was surprised to learn that a hostel for foreign workers would be built there.
“There are already foreigners in this area and if the hostel is built on top of that, it will cause this area to become monopolised by foreigners,”
“This is what worries us, including that security will be compromised and many other issues will arise such as traffic jams when there are hundreds of buses and vans going in and out of this area to pick up and drop off foreign workers,” he said.
Residents in the area apparently only learned about the proposed construction of the dormitory when a developer’s representative conducted a social impact assessment study (SIA).
Another resident, 52-year-old Khor TC, said the state government should prioritise constructions that benefit locals and not foreigners.
“We are not hindering development but we do not want foreigners to dominate the local population areas. We are concerned that their presence will have various social impacts in terms of hygiene, disease transmission, congestion and the often reported cases of crimes involving foreigners,” he explained.
A letter of objection was sent to authorities
The chairman of a committee formed to protest this potential construction, Wahid Othman, said that a letter objecting to the proposed construction was sent to the local authorities and the Chief Minister last month, but they have not received any responses so far.
“Although this project has not yet been implemented, it certainly causes concern to the residents, not to mention that this dormitory is said to house more than 20,000 foreign workers,”
“The Juru area already has a lot of foreigners and the residents are worried that this project will cause social tension. The construction of a dormitory near the residential area will also disturb the quality of life,” he added.
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