I recently got a call from a consultant company that helps people get Green Cards (or Permanent Residencies) to live and work in the United States of America.
It would be fun to live and work in the USA. I’ve lived and gone to school there before. I have also lived and gone to school in the United Kingdom. It would be fun to live and work there too.
Although I think working and living in a foreign country would be a good experience, I have all the opportunities here at home in my home country Malaysia as well. And I love it here.
So there really isn’t a serious need to for me to want to apply for a Green Card, such as to earn a decent living or to escape persecution. I turned their services down. They wanted me to pay a fee anyway!
But this got me thinking about migration around the world, and especially with the recent humanitarian crisis with the Rohingya refugees that landed on our shores late last year.
Malaysia isn’t a signatory of the convention on refugees which means that they are all considered illegal immigrants and usually will be deported home.
One of the reasons that has been given by the government in Parliament is the fact that we currently have our hands full dealing with the ‘problems’ that are brought on by the refugees.
I have always wondered about the rights of people when it comes to migration. I seem to have the view that it is a basic human right to allow people to move freely anywhere in the world.
If we don’t believe that people should be discriminated by their race, religion and culture, then why should we discriminate them based on where they were born? And immigration law is just that - discriminatory.
First of all, let’s take a look at the reasons that governments give when they justify immigration laws. The main point is always the fact that it is to take of their country’s economy.
It is said that if a huge number of migrants come into a country, they would grab away all the jobs available for the locals. And also, the salary scale would drop due to the huge supply of employees.
But here’s the thing. Economists have shown the effects to be the opposite. According to a Freakonomics podcast episode on human migration, the decrease in salary has always been compared to zero.
And, when these migrants work, they contribute more to the economy in the form of spending and taxes than actually just leaching of the benefits from the social welfare facilities.
And not only is it advantageous of the country that they arrive in, it also improves the economy of the country they leave because they send money back to help improve the conditions of family back home.
The migrants who start working also never actually take jobs away from the locals. They complement them and actually improve the quality of the workforce by creating healthy competition.
Basically, it’s like how there are policies being put in place to encourage more women to enter the workforce. It’s because it would be better for the overall economy to have them working.
No one complains that when more women enter the workforce, it would mean that they are taking away jobs from the men. In fact, they complement each other and work side by side.
Another excuse for immigration laws is that migrants bring along negative social issues and they contaminate the the culture of the local society.
That’s just xenophobic. In fact, it doesn’t even happen that way. Take Malaysia as an example. There are fourteen states with unique and distinctive cultures and state borders are open for free migration.
The Kelantanese dialect is still as thick as ever. Anyone who goes to Sabah still can experience the ‘boleh bah kalau kau’ attitude, and the ‘adat pepatih’ is still going strong in Negeri Sembilan.
So there you have natural proof that open borders doesn’t mean that nationalism and culture will be lost just because people from outside cultures are coming in.
And to address the accusation that negative social issues will crop up, economists who study this field says that it only happens when migration is illegal and people have no other options.
Europe should also be seen as a positive example. When open borders under the Schengen agreement was implemented, they expected hundreds of thousands of Eastern Europeans to arrive in the West.
What really happened was that only a fraction of that actually migrated. And even then, it wasn’t for a very long term. They still wanted to maintain strong ties with their home countries.
I may be a bit of a radical when it comes to this idea of allowing open borders for human migration around the world. But I really believe that looking for better opportunities should be a basic human right.
As for me personally, I choose to stay right here in Malaysia. The opportunities are abound here in my home country and I know that this is definitely where I want to contribute what I can.
Zan Azlee
Wed Feb 17 2016
Astro AWANI's Zan Azlee believes that allowing open migration around the world is a basic human right. - File pic
Agenda pemantapan tatakelola, integriti jadi asas utama SPRM
SPRM akan memastikan agenda pemantapan tatakelola serta penginstitusian integriti menjadi asas utama selain siasatan kes jenayah rasuah yang menjadi tugas agensi itu.
Bursa Malaysia ditutup tinggi susulan sentimen positif pasaran serantau
Pada 5 petang, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) meningkat 5.91 mata kepada 1,575.16 daripada paras penutup 1,569.25 pada Khamis.
Pasukan sorak Malaysia raih tempat ketiga di Florida
Pasukan sorak Team Malaysia Youth All Girls meraih tempat ketiga divisyen Youth All-Girl Median di International Cheer Union World Junior Cheerleading Championship.
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Sekumpulan pakar PBB gesa laluan selamat bagi misi penghantaran bantuan
Sekumpulan pakar dari Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) menggesa agar laluan selamat bagi misi Break The Siege Freedom Flotilla to Gaza pada Jumaat.
Sabah FC berdepan tunggakan sebulan gaji pemain - Pengarah
Sabah FC kini hanya berdepan tunggakan gaji pemain untuk satu bulan setelah usaha dilakukan secara tuntas untuk menyelesaikan masalah pembayaran tunggakan sejak tahun lepas.
Tumpuan Jumaat - 26 April 2024
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan di Astro AWANI.
MYAirline akan terus kekalkan barisan pemegang jawatan, dapatkan pelbagai pelabur
MYAirline Sdn Bhd akan terus mengekalkan barisan pemegang jawatan yang dilantik dan pengurusan utama selain memastikan dokumentasi Sijil Perakuan Pengendali Udaranya (AOC) kekal dalam keadaan terkini.
China sokong Malaysia untuk dapatkan pembangunan yang sesuai dan mainkan peranan dalam arena antarabangsa
China akan memberikan sokongan kepada Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim untuk mempromosikan prinsip Malaysia MADANI dalam tadbir urus.
Perasuah semakin licik, perlu sokongan semua pihak terutama media - Azam Baki
Rasuah merupakan jenayah yang unik sifatnya pada masa kini dan Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) memerlukan sokongan daripada semua pihak khususnya media untuk membanterasnya.
KJ tak terfikir untuk kembali ke FAM
Khairy berkata terdapat calon-calon lain yang lebih layak untuk menerajui badan induk itu berbanding beliau.
Kes Nik Raina dan Jawi diteruskan ke Mahkamah Persekutuan
Pada Disember tahun lalu, Mahkamah Rayuan mendapati bahawa Jawi telah bertindak di luar bidang kuasanya apabila mendakwa Nik Raina.
Jawi, pergi buat kerja lain selain kacau Nik Raina - Syahredzan
Jawi diminta menumpukan kepada perkara lain selain meneruskan tindakan terhadap Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz yang didakwa atas kesalahan menyebar dan mengedar buku kontroversi karya Irshad Manji.
Jawi perlu tahu beza kuasa pengurus dan Lembaga Pengarah Borders - Ibdil
Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO menggesa Jawi membezakan tahap jawatan serta kuasa yang ada pada pengurus kedai buku, Nik Raina Abdul Aziz dengan Lembaga Pengarah Borders sendiri.
Nik Raina dilepas tanpa dibebaskan dalam kes sebar buku Irshad Manji
Mahkamah melepaskan tanpa membebaskan pengurus kedai Berjaya Books, Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz yang didakwa atas kesalahan menyebar dan mengedar buku kontroversi karya Irshad Manji.
Tak boleh tidur? Baca lah buku terbaru saya - Tun M
Bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad melancarkan buku terbarunya, 'The Wit & Wisdom of Dr Mahathir Mohamad' yang diterbitkan oleh Editions Didier Millet (EDM).