Report finds racism incidents most prevalent in politics

 

Pusat Komas programme director Ryan Chua (second from right) with other civil society members at the launch of the Malaysia Racism Report 2023.

PETALING JAYA: A report by a human rights group has found that incidents of racism and racial discrimination were most prevalent in politics among several categories studied in 2023.

In its report titled “Malaysia Racism Report 2023”, Pusat Komas said it recorded a total of 50 incidents of racism and racial discrimination, of which 15, or 31.4%, involved politics.

Other reported incidents fell under the categories of education (9.8%), sports (7.8%), government policies (7.8%), other sectors including health (13.7%), provocation or incitement (17.6%) and xenophobia (11.8%).

It said politicians often manipulated racial and religious tension to grapple for power, adding that they would also seek to instil fear within their communities.

Its programme director, Ryan Chua, said racism among politicians was clearly still existent, citing recent debates regarding vernacular schools, and bak kut teh being recognised as a national heritage dish.

“Fear mongering is a strategy used by politicians – by making false statements and creating false narratives against the opposing party (including) by claiming that the opposition’s victory could be disastrous to the community that they are serving.

“Bak kut teh became a big issue in Parliament. Even vernacular schools became an issue. It (a vernacular school) is a language-based school, but it was used as political ammunition,” Chua said during the launch of the report.

The report cited speeches and remarks made by several political leaders in 2023, including PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

This included Mahathir’s claim that the Malays do not benefit from Malaysia’s multiethnicity, with the Chinese community dominating the business sector, and Hadi warning against political power falling to non-Malays.

It also cited Anwar’s use of a racial slur during a dialogue with university students, and former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s claim that the handling of the “Allah” issue was proof that the unity government was being run by non-Malays.

Several recorded incidents in the education sector include barring students from wearing traditional clothing such as sarees, Chua said.

He also cited reports of an incident where a teacher encouraged a student to embrace Islam to improve his chances of joining the national football team.

However, he said, the 50 incidents reported last year was lower than those recorded during previous years, adding that it peaked during the general election season in 2022 and 2018, when 82 and 76 cases were recorded, respectively. - FMT