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Illegal Immigrant |
by Richard Jones |
I came here from Sumatra where my family�s quite poor,
Our house is ten square metres, two windows and a door.
The roof is thatched with lallang, the walls are split bamboo;
But its got a cement dapor and the floor is cement, too.
We live on rice and vegetables, or vegetables and rice,
But we sometimes have an egg or two, if we can find the price.
And sometimes there might be a fish, if it will take the bait,
But there�s little time for fishing as I�m always working late.
I heard that in Malaysia, a worker such as me,
Could afford to buy a motor-bike, or even a T.V.,
That shoes are made of leather, and that employers pay,
Enough to buy real cigarettes and eat meat twice a day.
I thought I�d like to try it, and make money while I can,
So I went up to the city and I found a middle-man.
Who, for nearly all my savings, would arrange a boat that night,
Well, I didn�t stop to argue as a fortune was in sight.
So I found myself next morning, with ten others, on the shore,
And a minibus was waiting there to take us to Johore.
The plantation was a big one, and the houses there were grand,
But the bus drove right on past them, which I couldn�t understand.
It took us to the jungle edge, and stopped there by a shed,
And that is where we had to stay, with four planks for a bed.
Its roof was aluminium and it had two concrete drains,
It reminded me of home but was much dryer when it rains.
Ah Kow was the contractor. He fed us with meat,
And biscuits, bread and Maggi Mee, and soup with chickens� feet.
Three meals a day he gave us, with no limit to the rice,
And sugar in our coffee � it seemed like paradise!
Our work was cutting bunches down from off the oil palm trees,
And carry to the roadside, which was painful for the knees.
Then pick up all the fruitlets, and put them in a sack,
But squatting down to pick them up was hard upon the back.
Ah Kow paid us ten cents a bunch, though he got seventeen,
But he had lots of expenses, I think you know what I mean.
He could settle Immigration, and had friends in the Police,
And he must be influential, for they left us all in peace.
I worked there for a year or more and never went to town,
And only bought some `Kretek� when Ah Kow�s truck came round.
He kept my money for me, and gave old clothes to wear,
And bought my friend some clippers so that he could cut my hair.
When I�d got my second thousand I decided to go home.
(In Rupiahs that�s a million, which I never thought I�d own!)
So Ah Kow arranged some transport, and with several other men,
We drove back to Malacca. It was three hours� drive again.
We met the boat at midnight at an isolated beach,
And they said they�d take us back for just two hundred ringgit each.
We left without our lights on, with a prayer upon our lips,
But no one could have heard it, for we met two bigger ships.
They stopped us and they boarded us and robbed us with no fuss,
Leaving us with just our clothing and some money for a bus.
I�d bought a small transistor and a kettle for my mum,
And for my little sister, some sweets and chewing gum.
They took it all onto their boats, and left us, then and there,
And I overheard our boatman say, �Please don�t forget my share�.
So one year�s work was wasted, all that sweating in the sun,
But you can�t do much about it when you�re looking at a gun.
We only came to work here, and not to rob and steal,
But if this is how we�re treated, just imagine how we feel.
My friends lost all their money, but for me that�s not quite true,
For those robbers hadn�t found the thousand ringgit in my shoe!
That story happened years ago and I�m much wiser now,
I came again, but legally, when someone showed me how.
With a ticket and a passport and a permit in my name,
I flew to Kuala Lumpur and I started work again.
This time I was a labourer on a construction site,
And I made a thousand monthly, by working day and night.
The foreman took me home one day, and there I met his daughter,
(She was nice, but not as beautiful as those across the water).
Still, beggars can�t be choosers and I thought I saw a chance,
So I arranged to meet her later and I started a romance.
My plan was working perfectly and soon I did the trick,
That forced her parents both to say we must get married � quick!
With wife and child Malaysian I knew I could face,
The relevant officials and persuade them of my case.
It worked as I expected and, before a year was through,
I was a legal citizen with NRIC (Blue).
Now I�m a Federal Citizen and join them when they shout:-
�Save Malaysia for Malaysians, keep those Indonesians out."
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