Reflections on the failure to combat racism

My Irish friend shared a Youtube video with me recently. It was an episode from the former BBC programme, the Doha Debates, which was discussing the topic,”This House Believes that Muslims are Failing to Combat Extremism”. At the end of the debate, polling revealed that the majority of the audience was in favour of the motion.

The panellists on both sides took on extreme ends, but to simply put it – one was apologetic, while the other was not. In spite of the common consensus concerned in tackling the global phenomenon of Islamic extremism, the commitment of Muslims to such a cause remains uncertain. Of course, thingsare a lot different now since this discussion took place in 2008 – with Isis and what not.

Nevertheless, I find this narrative can be somewhat applied to understand the role of Malaysians in performing their civic responsibility of controlling the escalating racial tension lately.

September 16th is the day we celebrate Malaysia Day. When Singapore, Sabahand Sarawak joined Malaya in 1963, it was intended to be symbol of our unity. The Malaysian spirit of pluralism is one that has become unique in the world ever since because it was working towards achieving a national identity that brought inclusivity in diversity.

Unfortunately, our red-clad counterparts seem to have missed the point. Instead, they seem to be making an attempt to emulate a “red-neck” mentality, endorsed by certain authorities, to grossly defeat everything our founding fathers had struggled to achieve, or to be more accurate, seeminglytry to threaten the weaving of our social fabric by implying the possibility of a repeat of May 13, 1969.

Such dangerous ideas being allowed to be paraded by politically-motivated individuals should have been rejected a long time ago. Which is where I feel the crux of the matter lies, that we ourselves have not taken enough action to aggressively reject racial discrimination in Malaysia.

Much of my sentiments stem from the fact that many of us are still rather uncomfortable about addressing racism in this country. It is evidentlynot our fault that we seem to conveniently skirt around the issue. We have laws that do not allow us to critically evaluate rights and privileges, and to what extent our Federal Constitution balances multi-ethnic interests to establish national unity and facilitate dynamic progress.

In order for us to really move forward as a nation, I think that it is vital that we start swallowing the bitter pill and confront the issues that plague us.

The September 16 rally proclaims its reclamation of the Malay identity by protecting the dignity of their race, religion and country, hence the name, “Himpunan Maruah Melayu”. Social media has shown both the growing solidarity for the ‘red shirts’ and also against it with hashtags like #ThisIsOurMalaysia and #SayNotoRacism flooding news feed. 

The post-Tunku alliance has made communal politics become so deeply entrenched in our society that it has somewhat devised an invisible barrier of racial segregation. So much so, it created an obliterated understanding of racial identity by invoking a sense of race-based consciousness and that we need to stick to our own colours to protect and uplift our “communities”, as if we were never really coexisting. This polarized national identity operates on the basis of “Race first, nationality second”.

At this point of time, such a backward notion can be done away with. In the formulation of our identities, I find that the aspects of race, religion and culture are not mutually exclusive, as they can be embraced in a union of shared values and principles with respect to individual liberty.

Each of us ought to reclaim our own concept of the national identity, instead of permitting politicians to outline the narratives and dictate inter-ethnic relations in such a way that it only seems to benefit their modus operandi of “divide and rule”. How funny that our leaders seem to have deviated back to the route of colonial strategy.

History textbooks are riddled with connoted racial stereotypes that create basic equations of association that are often misused in the name of politicking to inspire a manipulation of memories concerning race-relations in Malaysian history. Such rhetoric has been obviously abused and we are the ones who end up being fooled into believing that this is our reality.

On the other hand, we can be held accountable as well for upholding certain beliefs that give consent. For example, racial profiling remains rather clear in job opportunities or even seeking accommodation. Having being turned away from landlords because of my skin colour, I have been made quite aware of the existence of racism as a form of convenience, or a societal norm that is deeply embedded but strangely grown into acceptance. Heck, I even got bullied in school for being Indian!

Some would argue that, “Not everyone is like that. There are plenty of good people in this world who don’t do such terrible things”. I agree with this notion, but at the same time, it exemplifies the very same apologist mindset that makes it a fertile ground for this form of extremism to grow.

The best solution to combating racism is a collective effort to express dissent of anything that inspires such sentiments. It begins with ensuring we make a clean slate that paves the way to the colour-blind society that Malaysia should be. As Nelson Mandela once said;

“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or hisbackground or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” – September 17, 2015.

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