Netizens Call Out Residents Of Selangor Apartment For Petitioning To Ban Africans
"We tried our best to make peace with them and live in harmony, but it just didn't work."
By Katrina Khairul Azman — 29 Apr 2019, 01:43 PM — Updated over 5 years ago
Here's what residents of Selangor apartment have to say about the petition to ban Africans
In a statement sent to SAYS on 30 April, a representative for the residents said, "We tried our best to make peace with them and live in harmony, but it just didn't work."
The man revealed that certain residents had caused disturbances to the point where neighbours complained on a weekly basis."We were not facing problems with all foreigners. Residents of African ethnicity caused a majority of the problems," he said.
Examples of disturbances include intimidating female residents, working out topless in the gym, not registering to use the barbecue pit, making too much noise at night while partying, and falling asleep on the corridors after drinking.
According to the statement, it was irresponsible drinking that led to the incident on 21 April.
"The fight was so bad that they beat up our guards, broke our glass doors," the man wrote.
Block C residents came up with the petition after several attempts to deal with the problematic residents via their landlords.
After local residents married to foreigners of African ethnicity quickly voiced their displeasure, they "amended our petition to allow certain clauses for special cases."
The representative explained that the petition would not be carried out if not for disturbing incidents
"We are all Malaysians, and we want the best outcome for everyone, even if it meant doing something like this," he said.
"Be it locals or foreigners, if they cause a ruckus at our home, action will be taken," he added.
It was previously reported that a netizen took to Twitter to share about the racism faced by African tenants in her apartment complex in Bandar Saujana Putra, Selangor
Natasha shared that her tenant, a Nigerian student, was concerned for his safety after fellow residents complained that "black monkeys" are destroying the apartment's "good name"
"They call us black monkeys, they call us negroes, they call us chimpanzees," the man, identified as Precious, told his landlady in a WhatsApp voice note.
"Are we the only Africans staying in Malaysia? Why this hatred? If they travelled around the world and are treated this way, would they be happy?" he said.
"If they could reduce the level of hate, then this would be a better place for everyone. Help me tell them that we're here not to cause any harm," he added.
The woman apologised profusely for the residents' behaviour.
Natasha shared photos of the residents' petition to ban African tenants from living in the apartment complex
The number of signatures collected so far is unknown.
In addition to preventing landlords and real estate agents from renting to African tenants, the petition seeks to prevent existing residents from "bringing African guests for daytime visits or overnight accommodation."
In a Facebook group dedicated to residents of the apartment, the woman wrote a long post calling out those who signed the petition.
"Y'all are just pure racists. If it were a white man with a horrible attitude ya'll won't even bat an eyelid."
She added that, "Anyone directly having issues with an individual can report to the police station and inform the owner of the unit the tenant is from. You can't ban a group of people for just EXISTING."
"Not going to apologise for renting to a Nigerian young man. He's a good person."
Natasha also included insight into the discussions within the group.
In response to her message, a resident attached a video showing the building's lobby littered with garbage on 21 April
He indicated that the petition comes after they discovered that an African man was responsible for the mess.
Natasha reiterated that the incident should not justify banning all African residents.
"I'm sure he doesn't agree with the Muslim ban but would gladly ban all Africans," she wrote in a reply to a Twitter user.
"I'm a real estate agent and so part of why it was important for me to do this is because it has been happening a lot with my clients as well," she told SAYS.
