I was quite sceptical when I read the letter by Irene Fernandez of Tenaganita writing about the plight of the poor immigrants and why they have resorted to violence (Immigrants are people too, Jan 21). Let it be known that I make no apologies for not being as politically correct as she is. Here is my response.

How can we say the immigrants' crime is only because they are poor? We, too, have hardcore poor Malaysians in the kampung (villages) and estates subsisting on the bare minimum and who sometimes have to go hungry. Poverty pervades all races. But our society has never condoned large-scale violence.

The events in Nilai and Sepang over the last week are stark reminders of what they are capable of. Foreigners in a new country will naturally flock together to provide safety in numbers. This is a natural phenomenon as any respectable anthropologist will tell you.

The danger is that when their concentration is greater than the locals in an area, they 'take over' as if they own the place. It gives them the courage to do whatever they want, just as if they are back home.

In their own country, they deposed a government by violence. They looted shops owned by hardworking Chinese Indonesian businessmen. They burnt churches and killed Christians. Their government was and still is powerless as the population is large and largely not as educated as Malaysians. We now have the same scenario in several places in our own country. This is not about race anymore. This is about us Malaysians and them.

I agree many of them are suffering because of the bad economy and some can only earn a living by migrating here. But remember, they are not our nationals and they are not our responsibility. We have enough problems of our very own. As a Malay proverb says, 'kera di hutan disusukan....' (feeding the monkeys in the forest or taking care of others but not your own people).

If they do come, is there a guarantee that some of them will not cause trouble, rob, steal or rape? We do have criminals in this country. But why take the chance of adding more to their legions?

Even with the deplorable conditions of the detention camps, I find it very hard to sympathise with the predicament of the illegals. I know I won't be popular for saying this but it was they themselves who got here illegally. Illegal immigration is a risk.

They took a big risk to come here, paying a tremendous amount of money for passage on a rickety boat at the risk of drowning and an uncertain future. They risk unemployment, getting caught and being held in deplorable detention camps. It is such a pity that our government is not rich enough to put them up at the Mandarin Oriental.

The government must take a tough stance over this issue. Whipping is the least punishment on my mind. I can live without the comfort that they provide, if it means that I can sleep relatively safer at night. I wonder what Ms Fernandez's impression of them if she herself were a victim of their crime. The immigrants present a threat to national security simply because they are illegal immigrants. Full-stop.