Blind leaders, blind hate, blind justice

Low Yat Plaza is located just behind the historic Federal Hotel, the place where our nation’s first leaders slept the night before our nation’s independence was declared.

They probably thought of the future of our young nation. How they would get the three major races to work together.

How they would learn how to govern such a geographically large and socially diverse country. How to address the economic gaps and which economic direction to go?

If asked- what would be the problems they foresaw in this young nation fifty years down the road, a mobile phone fraud/theft/cheating case would probably be the last thing on their minds.

Yet, here we are, a country that survived a world war, a communist insurgency, a major racial riot, several smaller racial incidents, numerous attempts of terrorist attacks, and what sparks the latest incident?

A mobile phone.I mean a passionate love affair gone bad, a million dollar business deal gone sour, a gang rivalry, I can accept.

But a mobile phone? At least make it an Apple!

When I first read the news the most amazing thing I discovered is that people still buy things at Low Yat.

Apart from the crazy traffic jam and the ridiculous need to possess highly specialised haggling skills to argue with pseudo-skilled IT salesmen who all look like they got their hair done at the same Puchong hairstylist, I would have thought most Malaysians would leave Low Yat Plaza for the tourists, much like we left Jalan Alor, Petaling Street and two thirds of Bukit Bintang.

So what really happened? Three days after, details are still sketchy.

One version says a guy got sold an imitation phone. Though why anyone would pirate an already baseline priced China-made brand is still beyond me.

This version says the guy was upset, came back later and demanded a replacement phone.

When he didn’t get his replacement, he ran berserk, came back with seven friends and wreaked havoc in that shop.

They then presumably walked off like bosses with some imaginary building explosion in the background of their minds before the police then arrested them.

Another version says that same guy was sold that imitation phone, but instead of just wrecking the place, he first asked for a replacement. When the salesman refused, he then brought back his band of brothers and the rest of the storyline is pretty much the same.

Yet another version has the guy in another famous China brand shop and tried to steal that brand phone and was running away.

Then, in an admirable show of China brand solidarity, the employees in this second China brand shop caught the perpetrator and handed him over to the mall security, and later the police.

The friends of the suspect later came back, and in an equally admirable display of criminal solidarity, wrecked the second shop up. This would be sad because if this version is correct, all the second shop did was help out a fellow tenant.

But what happened after is hardly funny.

Whichever version went down, it was hardly racial. It was a clear cut commercial dispute. Yet, a fraction of Malaysians saw fit to turn it into just that. A racial issue.

Social media rapidly fermented with hate comments, racial comments. Instead of calming down their supporters, community leaders and politicians made either ambivalent statements, or issued barely veiled threats against “challenging” them.

And then on Sunday night, things went full crazy when groups of people congregated in front of the mall and started hurling racial abuse at the seller.

Sadly, many of those in the crowd were adults. Instead of playing their role in diffusing the situation, they only made it worse.

Fortunately the police was able to stop it from spreading and brought it under control before it spread into something ugly. This is something that never should have been allowed to go this far.

People took to social media, some condemning, some extolling the actions of the perpetrators. But most missing the most important question- how is that justice? And how is that racial?

Would such drastic and provocative actions be taken had the offender and offended both belong to the same racial group?

Had they both been Chinese, or both Malay, would people be rioting on the street? If not, does it not show that the problem was not in the act itself, but the racial overtone that has clouded this whole issue?

Yet, it should not be altogether surprising that it happened. For years now, preachers, teachers, leaders and politicians have been allowed to flirt with racism and bigotry with little to no consequence.

For years we have been sweeping these issues down under the carpet under the guise that everything is all right. That this problem is limited to a few and not the majority.

That it is not the official stance of the major parties, or the administration, or a government agency.

But the truth is, underneath the sugar coated responses the underlying problems- mistrust, misconceptions, and misplaced anger with other communities over the failings of our own, have yet to be properly addressed.

Each race has been led to believe that they are victims of some sort, that they are under siege and that they need to be shielded under the protective aegis of these preachers, teachers, leaders and politicians.

While easy to provoke, this blind hatred and blanket thinking is hard to contain once allowed to linger. Every practical problem and every social evolution will now be perceived as an attack on another community.

Economic problems have taken a racial tone. Social problems have taken a religious flavour.

Instead of looking at them objectively through clear lenses, we now colour them as somebody else’s problem, and further alienate ourselves from communities that we perceive as “not ours”.

This has to stop. And it has to stop now.

Stop spreading the hate. Stop the casual racism in real life and in social media. Stop with the racial stereotypes.

Break the cycle of hate. Engage the “other side” in conversation and in friendship. We used to be better than this. We can do so much better than this.

The on-off leadership we call government should play their role and lead. As a cohesive, united front, and not sporadic, inconsistent individuals.

A clear and unequivocal message must be sent that racism and bigotry will not be tolerated in any form. Against any race.

There is a time for playing politics and there is a time to come together as a nation and remind ourselves that we are in this together as Malaysians. And this is one such time.

Otherwise, God help Malaysia. – July 14, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.