At the Asean Digital Ministers' Meeting, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin suggested that Asean should take a tougher stance against hate speech, including, but not limited to, harassment and threats against a person or persons based on their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or nationality.
Well, you got to be living under a rock if you think that Malaysia, having its PM call for such a benevolent gesture, is free from hate speech.
In fact, much like potholes, hate speech has unfortunately become so normalised in our lives that we tend to shrug it off. The only time it becomes a big deal is when some politicians get their egos damaged and feelings hurt by what the rest of us have to deal with on a daily basis - again, much like potholes.
Our politicians shamelessly make crude remarks over gender and sexual orientations, while openly and repeatedly call for the prosecution of LGBT people. Of course, this comes under the guise that they do not hate, but in fact, are filled with love for LGBT people, that they want to "cure" them. That, and of course, to avoid natural catastrophes, brought on by the mere existence of LGBT people.
From asserting that women should squeak like Doraemon to telling them that they need to put on makeup to look more "presentable", to suggesting that some rape victims are "asking for it", hate speech in the form of misogynistic and sexist remarks by politicians also do not surprise anyone in this country.
Race and religion have caused the brunt of hate-laced speech in this country. The cheapest of the pile are name-calling with "babi" and "keling" having their day in Parliament.
There are also the more sinister "balik China" and "gelap tak nampak" also making a mockery of our esteemed House, resulting in a slap on the wrist as a "warning." Oh, and let's not forget that we are that country that rejected the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) - so that makes all the above "okay".
On a more serious note, such underlying tensions, which not only go unreprimanded by those in power but instead are often further fanned by them, have more than once resulted in physical clashes among races.
The temple incident in Subang and the demise of the late firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kasim at the time are is still brought up again and again, on one hand, to call for due justice, but also to draw lines between the races through the instigation of hate.
Working with people with disabilities has opened my eyes to the horrific encounters with hate speech that so many of them helplessly endure. Yes, even a person on the autism spectrum knows exactly what you mean when you call them "gila".
It is interesting that the PM also drew lines around hate speech against nationalities, with Malaysia's frankly brutal treatment of refugees and migrant workers, especially during this Covid-19 crisis.
Then again, with almost half the local population having to endure being called a "pendatang" throughout most of their lives, it really is not a surprise. It is normalised, remember? We, our parents and our grandparents could have been born in this country, but there are parties here that still make it their patriotic duty to remind us that we are and will always be "pendatang".
Bottom line, just because it is normalised does not make it right. There is a lot of work to be done in the area of hate speech in Malaysia and we really need to get our own backyard in order before we preach to others to do the same.
MAJIDAH HASHIM is a human rights defender. She can be contacted via Twitter at @majidahhashim. - Mkini
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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