Malaysian heritage site caught in row over non-local staff

Images of a migrant worker apparently guiding visitors around one of Kuala Lumpur’s best-known heritage sites have triggered a backlash in Malaysia, with critics asking why locals were not hired instead. The row erupted after photos and video circulated online showed visitors being shown around the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, a colonial-era landmark that has overlooked the capital’s Independence Square since the 19th century. Sharp-eyed viewers noticed that among the staff in KL City Gallery uniforms was a man in a sash reading “May I help?” who social media users claimed was non-local. The clip quickly ricocheted across social media, with commenters demanding to know why an employee helping to explain Malaysia’s national story of independence and sovereignty to visitors was not a local hire. KL City Gallery apologised on Monday, confirming that the man was a foreign national but insisting that he had never been appointed as a tour guide. “The staff member concerned is not a tour guide and has never been appointed by the company to carry out the duties of a tour guide,” it said in a statement. “The wearing of the sash created confusion regarding the role and identity of the appointed tour guides.” Every guide currently working at the site was a Malaysian citizen, it said, adding that steps were being taken to prevent a similar mix-up from happening again. The explanation did little to quell the criticism online, as social media users demanded to know what roles migrant workers actually performed and why they were stationed at the gallery. “Hire university students, part-time local staff,” one user wrote, while another suggested recruiting Malaysian retirees instead. Several people who said they had previously visited the gallery claimed to have encountered non-Malaysian staff members, though others identifying themselves as guides or recent visitors disputed suggestions that foreign nationals had been conducting tours. “Then who are they?” one user asked, with others urging the gallery to explain what jobs the workers had been hired to do. This Week in Asia could not independently verify the nationality of the workers pictured. The controversy appears to have stemmed from a video posted on Sunday by Kumaar Family, a Malaysian-American family vlog with more than 800,000 YouTube subscribers. Several social media users said they recognised the footage from the channel. Kumaar Family has previously worked with Tourism Malaysia on travel content aimed at both domestic and international audiences. This Week in Asia has contacted KL City Gallery for further comment on the number and nationality of workers it employs and the roles they perform. National identity Completed in 1897, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building once housed the seat of the British colonial administration in Kuala Lumpur and overlooks Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square), where the British flag was lowered ahead of Malaya’s independence in 1957. Part of the complex reopened to the public in February as a centre for exhibitions, culture and tourism after an 11 month-restoration under Warisan KL, a government-backed programme to rejuvenate some of the capital’s most important historic buildings. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who launched the wider heritage programme last year, has previously described the building as a symbol of Malaysia’s journey from colonial rule to independence and national sovereignty. The episode comes as Malaysia continues to grapple with its dependence on migrant labour even as the government seeks to prioritise jobs for citizens. Speaking in parliament in July, Anwar said employment opportunities should be prioritised for Malaysian citizens, while acknowledging that some industries needed migrant workers. “We do need foreign workers, that’s a statement,” he said, adding that recruitment syndicates had for decades allowed people to “amass wealth”. Malaysia permits migrant workers in several sectors, including the service sector, subject to government quotas and other conditions. Awkward timing The gallery row coincided with an announcement from Dhaka on Sunday that Malaysia would recruit around 200,000 Bangladeshi workers over the next six months, beginning in phases from the end of September. Malaysia had restricted the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers in 2024 amid reports of debt bondage, forced labour and workers arriving in the country to find the jobs they had been promised did not exist. Mir Shahe Alam, Bangladesh’s state minister for local government, rural development and cooperatives, told reporters on Sunday that roughly 800,000 registered Bangladeshi nationals already worked in Malaysia, and that Dhaka had asked Kuala Lumpur to regularise those without documentation. Malaysia’s government has said it wants to reduce the share of migrant workers in the national workforce to about 10 per cent by 2030, down from the current 13 per cent.

Malaysian heritage site caught in row over non-local staff

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A viral video shot at the Sultan Abdul Samad Building has sparked a backlash, despite management insisting the worker was not a tour guide

A viral video shot at the Sultan Abdul Samad Building has sparked a backlash, despite management insisting the worker was not a tour guide