WHEN it comes to moving to another country, there are immigration laws that everyone must abide by. However, if these rules are violated, the consequences do not just apply to the offender — they can affect others over time as well.
In a post on Threads, a Malaysian woman recently called out fellow compatriots living in the United Kingdom for allegedly engaging in illegal hiring practices.
“Malaysians in the UK keep posting ads asking others to come ‘work’ with them. On tourist visas, mind you, and for puny pay.
“Malaysia’s already in the news for all the wrong reasons, and now we’ve got people proudly promoting illegal work online?” she claimed in her post.
One of the screenshots attached to the post showed a Malaysian woman allegedly claiming that her compatriots “have done this for years” and describing the hiring practice as merely a “temporary measure.”
Another screenshot showed a Malaysian family looking for a nanny, allegedly offering a monthly salary of just over RM2,000 for a period of five months.
The woman also highlighted how these individuals’ alleged actions could potentially affect other migrants, possibly making the process more difficult for everyone.
Netizens were equally outraged by these actions, with many expressing concern over the recklessness of Malaysians risking their immigration status simply to save money on labour. Many also condemned the salary offered by the Malaysian family.
Other users drew comparisons to cases of Malaysians overstaying their visas in Australia, which have resulted in much more stringent visa application processes.
“These are the types of people who will cause Malaysia to lose its visa-free status for the UK,” one user said.
“Someone messaged me a few months ago asking — and even told me to spread the word — to find someone in Malaysia for a nanny job, offering only RM1,000. Absolutely ridiculous. And I honestly can’t understand why they’re risking their own work visa by doing something so clearly illegal and risky like this,” alleged another user.
“This post only proves that it is, in fact, our own people who exploit us the most. RM2,000 in the UK? You can barely survive in Kuala Lumpur on RM2,000, so imagine trying to live in the UK on that kind of wage,” another commented.
