YOUSSEF MOHAMED HAMED ABDO

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First name: YOUSSEF MOHAMED HAMED ABDO
Faculty: A18CS0334
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Display name: YOUSSEF MOHAMED HAMED ABDO
Country: Malaysia
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Current Issues in Malaysia

Racism in Malaysia

By: Zakaria- A18KE0330

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country, with a predominately Muslim population. Accusations of racism stem from racial preferences embodied within the social and economic policy of the Malaysian government, as well as broader tensions between various ethnic groups. Discrimination is widespread, publicly displayed and accepted. Ranging from implied ethnic superiority to religious intolerance. Charging non-Malays more for services is very common.

While 179 countries have ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), Malaysia is not one of them.^[1]

Racial Conflict in Malaysia: Against the Official History

According to the official history, the `race riots of May-July 1969 were a spontaneous outbreak of conflict between Malays and Chinese - Malaysia's two largest ethnic groups - and the violence was prompted, if anything, by opposition parties rejecting the status quo. In this article, the official account is challenged using recently declassified documents held at the Public Records Office, London, which suggest that the riots represented a coup d'etat. With its ideology of Malay dominance, the faction that came to power in May 1969 represented the interests of the then emergent Malay state-capitalist class. Since then, this faction has continued to hold power and has regularly invoked the specter of racial conflict to counteract demands from non-Malay communities for civil rights. ^[²^]

Ethnic conflict has one of the most prominent issues in the country where there is a multi-ethnic citizen and also become a global concern. It is difficult to resolve ethnic conflict due to the differences in issue and background. Sometimes conflicts can lead to physical violence and may last long without a solution. There are a few factors that can cause an ethnic conflict. Generally ethnic struggling for political, cultural, ethnic identity, religious and equity in economic distribution. Therefore, according to Michael (1997), the causes of ethnic conflict can be categorized as state structural, political, socio-economic and cultural factors (p.5). The state structural factor is a weak state structure and ethnic's geography. Most of the scholars categorized this as the main factor in ethnic conflict. Uneven ethnic distribution and demography will cause difficulty for ethnic cooperation and cohesion. Weak state structures are susceptible to both internal and external threats. Weak state means that the state is weak in power and can become an easy target for strong powers (Alaggapa, 1987). During the colonial time, the British had placed certain ethnic to different economic sectors. For example, the Malays are normally working as a farmer in the agricultural sector, which requires a lot of efforts in physical energy and low technology. For the Chinese, they were normally involved in trading or business sector which requires high technology, while the Indians are working as a farmer in rubber and oil palm estates.

This distribution had resulted in the income gap between ethnic become obvious and unbalanced The Malay and Indian will still dealing with poverty while the Chinese continually seeking a business opportunity to strengthen their wealth.

The dissatisfaction among the ethnic will exist and consequently will lead to ethnic groups to defend their right and equality. The process of maintaining these rights will impair their relationship because each of them wants to win the struggle. Malaysian citizens are consisting of three major ethnics Malay, Chinese and Indians which have different mother tongue language and own school systems. These factors simultaneously causing the students to separate based on their native language. For example, national schools will use the Malay language as the language of instruction. Thus, the majority of Malay students will study in Malay schools, while Chinese and Indians students will prefer to their own national (type) school. This situation will lead to very limited interaction among the students in different ethnic. Since the arrival of the Chinese to Malaya in the 19th century, instead of to seek for wealth, the Chinese people will not forget their social responsibility of educating their children so that they will inherit the Chinese language and culture. Thus, the establishment of Chinese vernacular school becomes an important agenda to them in addition to that, the decision to send their children to national (type) school which they feel the structure is able to guarantee their children academic excellence and not confidence in national schools also avoiding inter-ethnic relations. ^[3]

Fig 1: Ethnic Groups in Malaysia ^[4]

In Fig 1, it shows that in Malaysia the Percentage of Malay People are 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, Indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, Others 7.8%

Racism in Malaysia remained as the most serious problem dividing the Malaysian nation-building and development to achieved high standard Wawasan 2020 that was coined by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad during his era. There are some racism issues aroused after the following event of May 13th, 1969. It started since 2007 when the Indians made a giant demonstration contained approximately 20,000 Indian communities gathered in Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur to a standstill for almost six hours calling out the name of Queen Elizabeth II while waving the printed posters of Queen Elizabeth II. Some of the posters were written down in a different version which was in English and Tamil saying that, “The Queen of England, the symbol of Justice, we still have hope on you”.

The issue of racism is not something new and it has always been brought up over with every controversial issue. It can be because of what we have experienced since immemorial time. So now, it depends on us if we still insist to racialize any issues occurred in Malaysia. For me, no matter what we are, no matter what race we belong to, we as a Malaysian should be united as a whole for the betterment of the country. ^[5]

How to Eliminate Racism

No doubt, racism is one of the most important evils in our pluralistic, open societies need to confront. And various programs are meant to do so. But what are the odds that these programs will work? Psychology can help us answer this question.

There are roughly two distinct ways to fight against racism. One can attempt to weaken people’s disposition to classify themselves and others into races. The thought goes as follows. Suppose people treat as they treat eye color-viz. as an irrelevant, superficial, psychologically and morally meaningless physical character. Then, people would not despise, hate, envy, be afraid of, etc., others because of their race. After all, we do not despise, hate, envy, etc., others on the basis of the color of their eyes.

Alternatively, one can leave people’s disposition to classify themselves and others into races as it is an attempt to eliminate people’s negative attitudes (such as their negative emotions) toward members of other races. If this approach were to work, people would still view themselves as Black, White, and so on, but they would have no negative attitude toward other individuals qua members of specific races.

Now, will the attempts of fighting racism that is inspired by these two approaches work? What can psychology tell us about their chances of success? It is fair to say that lawmakers and social activists have ignored the potential contributions of psychology to answering these questions. In this post, I want to make a case for the relevance of psychology with respect to the design of anti-racist programs. I will first focus on the first way to fight racism, leaving the second one for another occasion.

So, what does psychology tell us about the attempts to fight against racism by eliminating or weakening our disposition to classify into races? To answer this question, we need to turn toward the research on the nature and evolution of the cognitive mechanisms underlying racial categorization. This is what I will do in the remainder of this post. In my next post (in a week or so), I will explain why it matters to anti-racist programs.

Now, where does racial classification come in? The idea is that our disposition to identify cultural markers and to infer cultural membership misfires. We take various racial properties (skin color, etc.) to be cultural markers and as a result, we draw distinctions between races. Racial classification is thus some kind of accident. We have not evolved to classify into races, but, rather, into cultural groups. And we mistake races for cultural groups. ^[6]

Racism takes many forms and can happen in many places. It includes prejudice, discrimination or hatred directed at someone because of their color, ethnicity or national origin.

People often associate racism with acts of abuse or harassment. However, it doesn’t need to involve violent or intimidating behavior. Take racial name-calling and jokes. Or consider situations when people may be excluded from groups or activities because of where they come from.

Racism can be revealed through people’s actions as well as their attitudes. It can also be reflected in systems and institutions. But sometimes it may not be revealed at all. Not all racism is obvious. For example, someone may look through a list of job applicants and decide not to interview people with certain surnames.

Racism is more than just words, beliefs and actions. It includes all the barriers that prevent people from enjoying dignity and equality because of their race. ^[7]

My Reflection about Racism

From my Point of view, In Malaysia, there are several types of people live together. Although they stay together but sometimes they may have conflict about their racism with others like Malay, Indian, Chinese, and others who lived in Malaysia. Sometimes they may have conflict about their Religion Because Malaysia is Muslim Country and Most of them are Muslim but Chinese and Indians Most of them are from different Religion Like Hindu, Cristian Buddhist etc. In times of Religion, they might make conflict with each other. However, Malaysian are so quite nations and they want to live with peach.

Finally, I want to say that, we are the human being so we might have an ego but we have to overcome this egoism and live together as a good nation on earth. To be a good nation we have to work on it together and unity is the strength.

References:

suicide in malaysia

Posted on 16 December 2018, 12:36 PM

Due to a lack of awareness on the validity behind mental health issues, there is a tendency for mental illness to be chalked down as ‘something that went wrong’ with the people who dare to share about their struggles. For example, depression is often confused with sadness. There is a clear failure to recognize that depression involves a flaw in brain chemistry, and it is deeper than something that is brought about by one’s own attitude or mentality. Yes, depression can be triggered by a traumatic or life-changing event; but depression is very different from sadness.

From the example above, we can see that one of the main barriers of treating or recognizing mental illness is social stigma. In recent years, the view towards suicide, actual and attempted, has garnered more attention due to the increasing amount of cases over the years. Befriender’s KL publicity director Ardy Ayadali said 7,446 who called in 2016 had suicidal intentions, compared with 5,739 in 2015 – showing almost a 2000 increase in callers. A study in 2014 entitled ‘Completed Suicides and Self-Harm in Malaysia: A Systematic Review’ stated that the prevalence of suicide in Malaysia was six to eight per 100,000 population per year.

In Malaysia’s, suicide or its attempt is a crime under Section 309 of the Penal Code. It carries a sentence of up to one year in prison, or a fine, or both. The main question that comes to light would be: should those who attempt/are involved in suicide ought to still be brought before the criminal justice system? The following will discuss the mindset behind suicide; reasons for suicide’s criminalization and decriminalization; as well as the focus on what has been done in Malaysia in regards to mental health. What more should the law be equipped with, could have, or should have done to prevent these acts?

Understanding the mindset of suicide

The Health Ministry revealed statistics that showed the worsening state of mental health problems among students in Malaysia, from one in ten individuals in 2011 to one in five in 2016.

Mental health expert Dr. Mohd Suhaimi Mohamad observed that if mental health concerns are not addressed in due time, it can lead to students being inclined to go through with their thoughts. “Low self-confidence, as a result, could cause a student to be in a state of worry and stress, coupled with the pressure that drives them to be competitive,” he said. Feelings, if bottled up too long, can drive a person to be overwhelmed and this could lead to skewed emotions and reckless decisions.

Befriender’s KL publicity director emphasized the importance of communication between parents and children, and how crucial it was to keep things in check. Especially in an Asian community where there is a lack of openness, parents can sometimes take mental health issues not as serious and they do not seek help for their children. Once this happens, their children may have ingrained in them that they should not talk to their parents when they encounter similar difficulties in the future.

Ashley Greig wrote in an article about how a factor that could influence one’s thoughts is modus vivendi. It means “way of living”, in a direct translation from Latin. Her perspective represents the external factors of what could be heightening a youth’s existing suicidal mindset; specifically the effect of peer pressure and social media. The Internet has given us greater access, from gaining resourceful information for our projects to tutorials to guide you through learning a skill. However, the Internet is also a place that allows for bullies to hide behind their keyboards and still mess with their victim; it has given us opportunities to take part in the ‘dark’ side of the internet which can lead to unwanted stress and urges. The 21^stcentury has created a new generation of people with expectations of perfectionism, and when their expectations are not met, the disappointment that registers in their mind can be damaging – or even life-threatening.

Why criminalization?

Suicide and attempted suicide are still considered a crime in several countries. Any form of assisted-suicide, inclusive of assistance from a physician is considered illegal in China. In Singapore, anyone who attempts suicide can be sent to prison for up to a full year.

Does the criminalisation of suicide really serve as an effective prevention of suicide? The World Health Organisation (WHO) holds the stance that criminalization stalls people from seeking treatment, which in turn increases the risk of suicide rather than reducing it. Criminalization seems to focus on the assigning of blame, rather than identifying the reason behind their cry for help. Criminalization may even motivate those attempting suicide to ensure that they don’t fail, instead of surviving and having to meet their punishment. “Suicide is a matter for social support and public health, not criminal law,” said Ms. Jolene Tan, Head of Advocacy & Research at AWARE. Suicidal cases should be seen by a psychiatrist or psychologist for further management. Attempters would find more help in counselling and rehabilitation in comparison to court proceedings.

Foundations matter, and one of the main reasons for the criminalization of suicide stems from a matter of belief. English law perceived suicide as an immoral, criminal offence against God and also against the King. In terms of the Christian perspective, God had crafted us in His image and therefore our life is sacred. If we look at the world through the lens of moral relativism and how nobody is objectively right or wrong, it blurs the true vision of the only actual authority who has the power to take and give life. In Christianity, only the Creator can rightfully destroy either life or liberty. He gave us both, and only He can rightfully separate us from them. In the case of self-murder, nowhere was an exception provided as it was written in His command, “Thou shalt not kill”.

In terms of the Islam religion, their basic belief lies in the protection of humanity. One of their foundational goals is to preserve the life of human beings. Islam strongly prohibits suicide due to its teachings on the sanctity of life. The religion provides comfort to the distraught to not give in to their despair, and try their utmost best to get out of their conundrums while putting their faith in God.

What has been done in Malaysia

Our Malaysian government had a few initiatives over the years in tackling mental health issues. The National Mental Health Policy and The Mental Health Act 2001 was imposed. At present, several programmes are in place which includes Program Minda Sihat Sekolah, Screening and Healthy Mind Intervention in Primary Health Care, Community Mental Health Rehabilitation Programme, Job Placement Programme, Mental Health and Psychosocial Response in Disasters and workplace Stress Management Programmes.

Criminal lawyer Collin Arvind Andrew expressed how the law did not possess proper empathy; the person may be going through a lot in their mind at the time of the attempt. State Police Central Intelligence and Crime Unit officer DSP Yazrie Ismail explained his take on suicide cases, firmly believing that such cases should not be brought to court so as not add more stress to the accused. His line of reasoning surrounds the welfare of the person involved; the persons’ mental and psychological condition should not be intensified further. There is a greater understanding for mental health issues in recent years which leads to a fight for a more lenient treatment towards the attempters.

Late 2016, the National Mental Health Strategic Action Plan was introduced by the Malaysian government in response to the prominence of Malaysians suffering from mental health issues. Health Director-General Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said that the five-year plan (2016-2020) sets out the main mental health priorities for the government, non-governmental agencies (NGO’s), employers, schools and the public. Currently, at the drafting stage, the plan is following in line with WHO’s comprehensive mental health action plan (2013- 2020) to deal with the increase in mental health cases in Malaysian society. The plan is a public health approach that takes into consideration cross-sectoral collaborations, task shifting and training of NGOs.

Dr. Noor Hisham referred to the action plan tackling several areas, which includes accessible and comprehensive mental health care and services, and to have cross-sector collaboration among agencies. The plan also encouraged the need to spread awareness of mental health issues, such as through target group sessions, basic psychological aid during a crisis, research and surveillance. The plan being able to succeed would be another question altogether, and this could only be assessed upon implementation.

What can we do as citizens

We never truly know how a certain illness or disorder can be affecting a person’s life and how much they may be struggling. Everyone plays a part in building towards a place of good mental health. We should take the initiative to be educated in dealing with mental illness, and how to do our part in providing a healthy and caring society.

When we discuss about issues in relation to mental health, there will be many unanswered questions that is asked by the society. It should first be recognized that suicide is not a random and pointless act. It is seen as a way out of an intolerable situation, a crisis, a problem or difficulty. To make prevention more solid, it must start with a change in mindset – being more open in talking about it and seeking for help isn’t something to be ashamed about.

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