Malaysia is now reaping the bitter fruits of the illegal immigrant problem it sowed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The government then conveniently chose to close one eye when large numbers of Indonesians began slipping in illegally through the porous borders from Sumatra, Riau and Kalimantan.

It was true the Indonesian illegals were looking for work because they could find none in their country. Aside from economic motives, there was also a political angle to the whole fiasco as it was thought that the thousands of Malay Indonesians would eventually settle down in the country, have many children who would grow up to be citizens of the country just because they share religious and cultural similarities with Malay Malaysians.

If the latest population statistics is correct, bumiputras are now an overwhelming majority at 65 percent though we may never know how much or if the Indonesian immigrants have 'contributed' to it. Sabah became the first casualty of this 'immigration policy' and the rest of the country would follow in due course.

If one recollects correctly, it was in the late 1970s that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad (then deputy PM) made the famous or rather infamous threat to "shoot" the Vietnamese boat people fleeing their country in desperation and landing on the islands off the coast of Terengganu in the hope of re-settling in third countries.

While this was happening, Indonesian illegals were quietly allowed into the country. Had the infamous "shooting" threat extended to the Indonesian illegals as well, it could have halted or at least slowed down their influx. Had that been the case, perhaps not only the riot caused by the Indonesians in Nilai recently, but also various acts of crime committed by other Indonesian illegals throughout the country, would not have occurred.

The government's realisation of its folly has come perhaps a little too late. Non-Muslims continue to be sceptical about the whole affair.

It may be true that the Indonesians have been exploited in the past and continue to face exploitation in the present, and are continually subject to police raids, going by the letters on the subject sent to malaysiakini. But it is also true that the Indonesian illegals consider themselves different from illegals of other countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Burma or the Philippines.

The "special treatment" accorded them have emboldened them. It may not be all that far-fetched to think that many Indonesians even regard Malaysia as an 'extension' of Indonesia, not much different than say Kalimantan, Irian Jaya and Maluku, where they are also sent as transmigrants by their Java-based government.

We have perhaps unwittingly allowed Indonesians to 'colonise' various parts of the country, particularly Selangor and Melaka. In Kuala Lumpur, the Chow Kit and Batu Road areas are their strongholds. Otherwise, how do you explain their behaviour in Nilai and the other 'uprising' incidents in detention camps?