London’s charm is falling down

IT is the Fall intake period now for international students in the United Kingdom, and London especially, since the beginning of September, is filled with Malaysian parents and their children.

I had the opportunity of meeting a number of Malaysians during my recent visit to London. I stayed at the Bayswater area, which is affectionately called Kampung Malaysia not only for the substantial number of fellow Malaysians visiting or residing here but also due to the proximity of several Malaysian eateries.

Despite the prohibitive cost of educating their kids here, the United Kingdom used to be a university destination of choice for Malaysians.

But this is set to change.

A Sunday Times report says that a drastic decline in international students’ enrolment means that one in three UK universities will face significant financial challenges this year.

There are a few reasons for this, including rising costs of a UK education, competition from other countries like Australia, Canada and the United States, and because of the government ruling that as of January 2024, international students (other than those in postgraduate research courses) would no longer be permitted to bring their dependants with them to the United Kingdom.

But beyond these reasons, when a parent sends their child to study overseas, they want a safe and secure environment for their son or daughter.

The United Kingdom, London in particular, does not feel safe anymore.

The spike in crime in the country’s capital in recent times has gone on unabated. And if anything, it has gotten worse.

The most recent data shows that the overall crime rate in London in 2024 is 106 crimes per 1,000 people. The most common crimes are violence and sexual offences, which account for almost 270,000 crimes per year. The annual rate for violent crime in London is approximately 88% of the average rate for England and Wales.

A friend of mine who is a frequent visitor to the United Kingdom, Selina Yeop, was a victim of a mugging in July.

“I had always felt safe in the Bayswater and Hyde Park area of London. And despite being warned about the number of crime incidents here, I never thought it would happen to me.

“On my very first night, I caught the underground tube to the Queensway station after dinner and walked from there to my hotel in Lancaster Gate.

“It was about midnight, and I was with a friend. Just as we reached our hotel door, two Eastern European-looking men attacked us. They knocked my friend down and despite my screams they managed to get away with his expensive watch,” she related her tale.

Selina’s experience is not uncommon among Malaysian visitors here. Knife crime is a common thread, and reports of stabbings are a daily occurrence in London.

“We never had these worries pre-pandemic, but things have got far worse now,” said another friend who was mugged in broad daylight in Regent Street.

He blames uncontrolled immigration and the lack of funding for the Metropolitan police force as the reasons for this spike in crime.

On my recent trip I did notice the lack of a police deterrent at night, whereas there was a noticeable police presence during the day, especially in high footfall tourists’ areas.

I spoke to a cousin who has lived in London for more than 40 years. She did not mince her words.

“Never has a country and its citizens felt more disenfranchised, angry, and polarised as it is today.

“The riots in Southport and various cities in the United Kingdom, the rise of far-right extremism and the number of strikes/industrial action that has brought services in this country to a halt, are just a few examples of a country going astray,” she said.

She attributed the start of Britain’s problems to the Brexit referendum followed by the pandemic and lockdown.

“We should never have left the European Union. And then a few years later, the pandemic and lockdown brought a new norm that did not improve standards of living. Desperate middle-class people with full-time jobs who cannot cope with rising energy bills and food prices are resorting to food banks – a trend that is only getting worse,” she added.

Londoners are notorious for griping about their city, even as the United Kingdom’s capital continues to be a global hub for finance, culture, and tourism and it is still high on the list of the most visited cities in the world.

But the future does not look rosy. As London starts to lose its lustre, a 2023 poll suggests that almost half of young people living in the city plan to leave within the next 10 years.

The reasons? Endemic crime, lax immigration policies, the National Health Service (NHS) falling apart, rising cost-of-living and exorbitant property prices.