Umno senator wants party to accept Indians face most discrimination

INTERVIEW | Umno senator Khairul Azwan Harun wants his party to come to terms that Malays are not the most discriminated group when it comes to the private sector.

This is after a study conducted by a group where he is principal director found that Indian Malaysian males received fewer than 10 percent of call-backs for job interviews.

"I've said to many Umno leaders: We have to accept that Malays are not the most discriminated against in the private sector. It is actually the Indians.

"We should also voice out and champion the cause to help elevate Indians' chances to get a job. Don't just fight for the Malays," he told Malaysiakini in a recent interview.

The Centre for Governance and Political Studies (Cent-GPS) study published last week surmised that Malaysian private sector employers had a strong bias against non-Chinese Malaysian applicants.

After applying for jobs using fictitious names with similar qualifications, the group found that Indian and Malay candidates had a call-back rate less 14 percent and 16 percent for jobs that don't, and do, require Mandarin proficiency, respectively.

Conversely, Chinese candidates fared much better, with the male applicant scoring a call-back rate of above 30 percent, while the Chinese female was called back more than 40 percent of the time.

Azwan has said that a bipartisan approach must be taken to resolve the matter.

He feared that if left unchecked, these issues can lead to the rise of ethnonationalism.

"Right now in 'New Malaysia', some groups - I'm not referring to any particular race - feel that their position in the (economic, social) spheres is falling. This can cause ethnonationalism to rise again, and it is not good," he said.

Khairul Azwan Harun

With this in mind, he said Umno and its new ally PAS must not pursue a narrative based solely on "racial and religious lines".

"This doesn't guarantee sustainability or healthy cooperation for a long time," he said.

However, he said Umno together with the rest of BN and PAS are now working on a narrative for all Malaysians – one that transcends race and religion.

Azwan also urged Malaysia to reflect on its history to find ways to uplift each other.

"There must be justice. For example, if Malays are left behind compared to the Chinese, then the Chinese must be willing to sacrifice in the spirit of the nation so that Malays can be uplifted together.

"This includes for the most discriminated community, that is the Indians. The Malays and Chinese must join forces to figure out ways to help the Indians.

"But we lack that now. We lack politicians with big hearts," he said. - Mkini