“I don’t see how the law can fix this problem as people will still have their prejudices. It does not fix the core issue. (It’s just important) to not judge people by their skin colour.”
- Shalini Yeap, freelance writer
A young woman wrote to me recently, describing her experience of attempting to rent a house for her family and the overt racism she faced from landlords who declined to rent to her merely because she was Indian.
Sharing various texts and emails, this was not something sub rosa, indeed many of the landlords openly said they only rent to Chinese families. This was not stated in the listings this woman answered and her real estate agent, who was Chinese, warned her that this may be an issue.
She finally contemplated paying more after “negotiating” with a prospective landlord who was willing to make “allowances” for a higher rate but her teenage children talked her out of it.
As of writing, she has found a place but this experience has left a profound impression on a young mother who once considered herself Bangsa Malaysian.
Apparently, there is a proposed Residential Tenancy Act that is supposed to be tabled next year and one of the issues this act is supposed to address is racism in the housing market.
Of course, some folks do not like the word “racism” because apparently the word only applies to the political system of this country and the majority but never to minorities and how they interact with each other.
I personally know Indians who do not rent to people from the African continent, using the same justifications as property owners who refuse to rent to Indians.
Of course, people use the words preferences or biases when it comes to this issue, because “racism” is just too hard a concept for people to accept when it comes to the discrimination they dish out.
Pushback on planned law
Last year, National House Buyers Association secretary-general Chang Kim Loong, while arguing for the postponement of this Act, told FMT: “The focus should be on reviving the economy. Perhaps the proposed RTA should be revisited in five years.
“Unfortunately, racism and racist practices are prevalent not only in the tenancy market but in other areas of life and society. Look around and you will arrive at your own conclusion.”
This of course is a strange line of reasoning because the property market is a big part of the economy and if racism is prevalent in society, should we not address this issue instead of attempting to protect sections of the economy from legislative oversight?
Malaysian Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association acting president NK Tong last year said this proposed law would only hurt the market.
“In principle, we strongly oppose the government’s intervention in what should have been a private agreement between two parties. However, there may be situations where the tenant is at a disadvantage compared to the landlord, thus requiring a higher level of protection.
“For instance, if the tenant is from the B40 group, the landlord and the tenant are not on equal footing,” he was quoted as saying by NST.
You really cannot dismiss the arguments from the detractors of this proposed legislation because government intervention in this country is not done in a transparent manner and there is a history of dysfunction and overreach when it comes to legislation and enforcement.
Mind you racial discrimination is one of the issues this legislation aims to address, and while detractors may not be able to make coherent arguments on this point, there are many other issues where they do make relevant, data-driven points.
The idea that you can be in favour of something like the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) for instance and still believe that individuals are perfectly within their rights to discriminate based on race or religion is exactly the kind of horse manure that infects this country and which helps the political class maintain power.
Morally bankrupt idea
An “award-winning” journalist when interviewed on a radio station actually said while racism is a problem, she did not believe the state had the right to legislate when it comes to personal property.
She made the distinction between the “discrimination” of (and by) the state and babbled on about how education would slowly ameliorate individual racism.
Really? The state is always legislating when it comes to individual property. The state is always legislating when it comes to how we conduct business.
This idea that anti-discrimination laws when it comes to tenancy agreements (for instance) is something the state should not get involved in, is a morally bankrupt idea especially when proponents argue for inclusivity in other aspects of social, political, and economic life.
“Preference” is such a quaint term. It’s like saying some of my best friends are people in my non-preferred category but I just do not want to rent out to them.
Landlords having specific criteria that anyone could theoretically fulfil is not racism. It becomes racism when the criterion is race, or bigotry when it comes to religion. Of course, people are blind to some things in this country or worse, do not really care.
Continued discrimination
This idea that the state was racist, which created a separate space for the non-Malays to compete, live, and die in, has resulted in a discourse that not only alienates people but also encourages a siege mentality in the non-Malay community.
Some Malaysians scream that there is no discrimination in the private sector and that the only discrimination that exists is the kind carried out by the state. Or they claim there is discrimination in the private sector but it is more important for the state to handle the discrimination it perpetuates.
Having said that, we need to be extremely sceptical of any legislation that comes out of a state whose foundational ideas are based on ethnocentric imperatives that favour the majority.
We have to be sceptical of non-Malay power brokers who are subservient and held hostage to the threat of even greater racial and religious supremacy and who are part of crafting legislation that protects the economic and racial interests of an already discriminated against minority.
They say the first step in solving a problem is recognising there is a problem. When it comes to this kind of discrimination, unfortunately, the rakyat do not think there is a problem or even if they did, they do not think it’s worth resolving. - Mkini
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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