Multiracial or ‘multi-racist’?

It is abundantly clear that the nation is divided by race and religion. With our entire education and administrative system being corrupted by religious and ethnic dogma, how can we now expect our children to live together in a multi-ethnic society?

Shankar R. Santhiram, Free Malaysia Today

The blame clearly lies on politicians who created policies, drove the education system, and caused the rising religiosity in our country.

Malaysia has had an interesting few weeks and as usual, it all revolves around race.

First, we had the tourism minister demoting an allegedly underperforming director-general of tourism for the country. Instead of focusing the attention on the needs of the tourism sector in Malaysia, the narrative was spun as one where a robust ethnic Chinese minister overstepped his mark and sacked an ethnic Malay.

Then, we had the controversy of Bah Kut Teh, the world-famous herbal soup with meat. This dish is essentially a Malaysian concoction that deservingly got recognition as a national heritage food. Of course, the same ethnic Chinese tourism minister was the focal point for the vitriol. It caused much dissatisfaction with some Malaysians because prevalently, the soup uses pork, although there are multiple other versions with alternate sources of protein. The undercurrents of sinister racial narrowmindedness reared its ugly head once again.

And then, another ethnic Chinese minister proposed that we list Chinese new villages in Selangor as a Unesco World Heritage Site. Unsurprisingly, this caused a storm. Instead of seeing it as an opportunity to get listed on the world map, some people were fixated on discussing the dark history of these new villages where some Chinese once supported the Malayan Communist Party. The debate just became racist.

Now, in the holy month of Ramadan, where our Muslim brothers and sisters fast, another public outcry has broken out. The minister of education reiterated that during the fasting month, canteens in government schools must remain open for non-Muslim students. Fair enough, right? Nope, various Muslim politicians and organisations waded in, and argued that this ruling was in fact disrespectful to Muslims in the country. And as usual, the narrative deteriorated into more racism.

But racism in our country is not a one-way street. Some people like to think that the racism in Malaysia is only about the majority community being parochial to other races. This is simply not true.

If you live in Penang, like I do for half the week, the ethnic Indian population in this state will argue vehemently that the racism and discrimination they face is not just from the majority race, but comes mainly from the ethnic Chinese in Penang.

And of course, ethnic Indians themselves are not exempt from being racists. The old vestiges of the caste system appear regularly in the south Indian community. Yet, south Indians will also rightly or wrongly, argue that north Indians look down on them.

I do not have regular contact with Orang Asli folk. But I have friends who do, and they contend that this community is appallingly marginalised, and parochial attitudes have stopped them from developing further.

Some East Malaysians think us “westies” are awful people who have stolen their resources and left them poor. While we are a federation, there is no love lost between Sabahans and Sarawakians, and “Malayans” as they like to call us.

Isn’t it terrifying to think about how racist Malaysians can be? We are not just a “multiracial” nation, in fact, we are more of a “multi-racist” country.

In Malaysia, individual liberties are sacrificed on the altar of national unity. “State sponsored” racism is openly practised, and politicians rarely want to admit this fact. If exposed, it is quickly swept under the carpet and discussions are shut down on the pretext of “not wanting to discuss sensitive issues.”

Malaysians lament about a lopsided government service with 90% of our public servants coming from only one race. And, we moan about the “brain drain” in Malaysia. How can we be so blind and not see that racist national policies have pushed the brightest and best minds out of Malaysia, to shine elsewhere?

It is abundantly clear that the nation is divided by race and religion. With our entire education and administrative system being corrupted by religious and ethnic dogma, how can we now expect our children to live together in a multi-ethnic society?

Can we ever have proper discussions, untainted by religious zeal, about the ramifications for the country, on any problem that arises? On every national issue, accusations and counter-accusations of insensitivity are hurled. Vitriolic and acerbic comments go back and forth. People take dreadfully polarising positions.

It is clear that Malaysians have been growing apart over the years.

I lay the blame squarely at the feet of politicians who created policies, drove the education system, and caused the rising religiosity in our country. The “Malaysian” agenda for nation building, which our leaders advocated at its inception, seems to have now ground to a complete halt, and has broken down altogether.

Unless this government makes a concerted effort to clean up our education and administrative systems, and free it from religiosity and entrenched racial doctrines, Malaysia will continue to be plagued by racism, racist practices, and racist people.

If we don’t change our ways, it is more appropriate that our tourism ministry slogan be altered to “Malaysia truly multi-racist.”