Xenophobia has reared its ugly head at the Alam Prima condominium at Seksyen 22, Shah Alam, after an Australian man was greeted by a banner that no tourist wants to see, reported Malay Mail Online.
‘Foreigner you are not welcome to stay here…!’ read the sign hanging at the building’s lobby.
“As a result of the banner, I didn’t feel comfortable there and I only slept there. I left the apartment early in the morning each day and returned quite late at night because I didn’t want to be there,” said Wayne Parry, who rented a unit at the condo via Airbnb, a website where people can list, find and lease accommodation.
After spending the seven nights he had already paid for, he subsequently moved to another place within Kuala Lumpur for the rest of his stay.
Despite being put-off by the banner, Parry said he did not experience any bad incidents at Alam Prima during his short stay. The owner even told him that the sign was not intended for Australians.
According to Norhayaty Ariffin, a member of the condominium’s joint management committee, foreigners are only allowed to stay as guests for up to three months and residents should inform the management if an expat intends to reside there for a long period.
Residents of the 440 units are also not permitted to use their homes as ‘hostels’ to prevent any bad incidents from happening as foreigners are “not necessarily knowledgeable of local culture and customs.”
This has been part of the condo’s rules since 2012 and none of the residents have objected to it, she added.
Meanwhile, there are also other Malaysian condominiums that have a no-foreigner policy. In 2013, Malay Mail Online reported that a property in Bandar Sri Subang, Petaling Jaya prohibited African tenants, while another one at Seri Kembangan, Selangor even prohibited visits by African nationals.
Image source: Malay Mail Online
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
