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Name: Tan Yi Thin Section: 42
Matric no: A18KM0381 Case Study: Current Issues in Malaysia
RACISM IN MALAYSIA
Racism, also known as racial discrimination, is defined as an act of prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior, according to Oxford Dictionary (Racism, n.d.). It is an extremely sensitive issue that people avoid to discuss over to prevent any misunderstandings that can cause a chaos in the country. Malaysia is undoubtedly a model country which is able to sustain a harmonious nation despite the fact of having a multiracial and multireligious population comprised of Malays, Chinese, Indians and indigenous groups. From the article Demographics of Malaysia, Malays make up the majority - according to the 2010 census figures, over 50% of the 28.3 million population, including non-citizens, are Malays. About 22.6% of the population are Chinese Malaysians and Indian Malaysians comprise about 6.6% of the population (Demographics of Malaysia, 2019). Thus, it is undeniable that our country has long traded on its reputation as a uniquely diverse and unite nation. However, for the past 60 years from the independent day until today, inequality still persists in this country. The roots of this problem are due to the discrimination against minority groups especially in political field, and also the conservative thinking of Malaysians which resists changes.
Politics is the cornerstone of building a successful country. However, in Malaysia, the political issues are always said to be unfair, or worse, biased. Racism was used as a tool to ‘divide and rule’ the country. Today, most of the politicians work for their own race’s benefits instead of the nation’s mutual good. For instance, United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) had provided a great amount of privileges towards Muslim Malays, rather than other races (Malaysia Racial Discrimination Report 2016, 2017). Other than that, policies introduced by the government can raise racial crisis. Recently, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) has been thrust into heated public debate in Malaysia. In September, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s prime minister pledged to uphold UN principles in New Malaysia. He announced that his government would ‘ratify all remaining core UN instruments related to the protection of human rights.’ (Yahaya, 2018). This provoked the Islamist party Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and also UMNO as ratifying ICERD would require amending or exempting Article 153 of the Federal Constitution which safeguards the “special position” of the Malays and the natives of the states of Sabah and Sarawak (Anuar, 2019). The head if PAS, Hadi Awang, declared that it was compulsory for Muslims to oppose ICERD. The situation became worse when a big anti-ICERD rally was planned for December 8 in Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur by opposition political parties PAS and UMNO, with the support of various non-governmental organisations (Yusof, 2018). Tensions were rising to the point that there were calls for the army to stand by to keep the peace. Chaos reigned among the citizen as they were traumatized by the 13 May incident and afraid it would happen again. Hence, it is clear that political issues can cause racial crisis which will divide the multiracial population and thus bring down the development of our country.
Other than that, the outdated and pedant thinking is also one of the biggest causes of racism in Malaysia. An instance is the recognition of Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) qualification, a standardized test organized by the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia based on the curriculum taught in Independent Chinese Secondary Schools (ICSS) (Farhan, 2019). It was declared in its manifesto of the Alliance of Hope (Pakatan Harapan) at the 14th general election (GE14) in Malaysia that the coalition would recognise the UEC qualification if they were elected into power (Farhan, 2019). However, it received a backlash from the Malaysia’s netizens. One of whom is Prof. Dr Teo Kok Seong, Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), National University of Malaysia (UKM) who said that recognising the UEC would be “unfair” to holders of the Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM) and the Higher School Certificate (STPM) in an interview with a local daily. This is because he stated that the government of Malaysia is discriminating the Bumiputeras as they allow UEC qualifiers to enter public universities or to apply for government jobs. Also, he stated that it would compromise Malaysia’s national identity which is definitely not true at all (Farhan, 2019). Thus, this example clearly shows that Malaysians are narrow-minded and refuse changes. This conservative thinking of the citizens holds back the country to create an inclusive society and end discrimination against minority groups.
Racism can bring about serious consequences. 13 May incident which resulted from racial dispute was a blot on our country’s escutcheon. The riot happened due to economy imbalance and unequal political power distribution between the two major races in the country, Malays and Chinese (Racism In Malaysia, 2019). There were a sharp division of wealth and political power as the Chinese controlled the economy of the country whereas the government was dominated by the Malays (13 May incident, 2019). The incident had cast a shadow to Malaysians even until today. Hence, we learned the hard way that we must respect one another while voicing out our own opinions. Malaysia is a democratic country where we have the rights to speak out and give comments, however, we must know the limitations and do not overstep the boundary. Philosopher George Santayana once said ‘those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it’. It is important for us to know the mistakes made by our predecessors and constantly remind ourselves so that the same tragedy will not be repeated.
Every disease has a cure. To solve racism in Malaysia, citizens should take the initiative to help prevent the problem from becoming worse. First of all, a significant effort that must be highlighted is to raising awareness in colleges, schools and other organisations for not promoting racism in any forms (Pathak, 2016). This is especially helpful to create an inclusive society. As the saying goes, strike the iron while it is hot. Great virtue is easily cultivated in children from an early age and thus build a strong foundation for them to develop mentally, socially and emotionally. The spirit of solidarity can be implanted in their minds and thus forming a tolerate society. In this context, citizens should give a concerted effort by volunteering their services in anti-racism groups and other social groups. Moreover, financial donations can be made to anti-prejudice and anti-racist organisations as an effort to work towards building a peaceful and harmonious environment. Hence, in short, nurturing citizens with great sense of unity from the early stage is important to create an inclusive society despite races and culture diversity.
Looking at this matter from another perspective, parents too play a vital role to ensure racism is minimized as children are a chip off the old block. Since parents are directly involved in the development of a child, their mindset and thinking can greatly affect the child’s character. According to the research shown, parent’s behavior facilitates the development of social competence of the child (Brassard, Moncrieff M. Cochran and Jane Anthony, 1979). This can further prove my point where the parent’s thinking and child’s mindset are very closely related. If the parents themselves have been discriminating other races while the child is being brought up, all of this actions will be seen and learnt by the child. This bad manners and racist mindset will then be passed down generations, worsen the racism issue in Malaysia. However, if parents themselves set a good example for their children, the future generations will not have the seed of racism implanted in themselves. Hence, with time, this issue can be resolved after several generations. It may seem a long time but I believe that to solve the root problem which is largely based on the citizen’s mindset, time is definitely a must-give to ensure this problem is properly solved. Therefore, I would like to reiterated the importance of a parent’s role in proper child development, thus helping in the issue of racism.
Racism is nothing but maximum hatred for minimum reasons. Today, racial prejudice is still prevalent among many nations and our society. Many people suffer because of their skin color, gender or ethnic background. Racial discrimination should come to a halt as we are all equal and deserve to be treated fairly without favouritism or discrimination. Racism is a poison to our country and it will spread all over the country like virus. What make things worse is that this negative thinking will pass on from one generation to another and form a bigger gap between different races. Thus, with this problem unsolved, a country is more likely to be destroyed as it can affect security of the society and also the development of country’s economy. Worst of all, a civil war can break out and causes many innocent human lives to be sacrificed. In a nutshell, issues regarding racial discrimination must be eradicated. We need to embrace our differences to promote peace. Concerted efforts should be made by all citizens to help uproot the problem so as to build an inclusive society.
References
13 May incident. (2019, April 3). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_May_incident
Anuar, K. K. (2019, January 7). Analysing Malaysia’s refusal to ratify the ICERD. Retrieved from OxHRH Blog: http://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/analysing-malaysias-refusal-to-ratify-the-icerd/
Brassard, Moncrieff M. Cochran and Jane Anthony. (1979). Child Development and Personal Social Networks. Child Development, 50(3), 601-616, 16. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/1128926
Demographics of Malaysia. (2019, April 12). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Malaysia
Farhan, A. (2019, April 5). Ahmad Farhan. Retrieved from The Asean Post: https://theaseanpost.com/article/uec-danger-malaysias-national-identity
(2017). Malaysia Racial Discrimination Report 2016. Pusat Komas Non-Discrimination Programme Malaysia.
Pathak, K. (2016, August 24). Racism Essay (Types, Causes, Effects on Society Solutions) Speech Quotes. Retrieved from Imp Days: https://www.impdays.com/racism-types-causes-effects-solutions-slogans/
Racism. (n.d.). Retrieved from English Oxford Living Dictionary: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/racism
Racism In Malaysia. (2019, March 27). Retrieved from GradesFixer: https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/racism-in-malaysia/
Yahaya, Y. (2018, September 28). Dr M pledges to uphold UN principles in New Malaysia. Retrieved from New Straits Times: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/09/415933/dr-m-pledges-uphold-un-principles-new-malaysia
Yusof, A. (2018, December 8). Anti-ICERD rally in Kuala Lumpur: 5 things you need to know. Retrieved from Channel News Asia: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/anti-icerd-rally-kuala-lumpur-malaysia-5-things-need-to-know-11011622