Racial Paradigm in Malaysia

The issue of race and religion has always plagued the scene of Malaysian politics – from the independence of Malaya till this very day. From day to day conversations on the ground to the headlines of mainstream newspapers, ethnic and racial topics are bound to instigate emotions more than intellect. Much energy and time has been wasted from arguable more pressing issues. The big question remains. Are racial and ethnic issues relevant in present day Malaysia?

Oddly enough, on the ground, grievances are expressed among members of the same ethnic group (and in some cases to foreigners) and are rarely discussed openly. Perhaps human nature prompts us to evade or avoid unnecessary conflicts. Perhaps, more plausibly, it simply is not worth discussing. Even when it arises, discussing racial relations with your peers could hardly change the wider picture. If we were to conduct a study on inter-racial relationships and cross-examined their topics of discussion, racial issues would constitute a negligible or absent amount of issues addressed. It is also not reflective of our actions. How many of us when buying goods take into consideration the skin color of the person behind the counter? The point is, if ethnic questions are ignored in our day to day life due to its irrelevance, why does it deserve the merit of our whole nation? No doubt it is an issue nonetheless, but as a people we have priorities and we need to get them straight.

There needs to be a clear cut distinction between racism and preference. People are comforted with familiarity and fear differences. A group of Chinese peers may not mix around with Malays because they hate Malays, but because Malays are unfamiliar and different (This unfamiliarity highlights the failure of our education system more than anything else and shall be discussed as a separate issue). Malays have different beliefs, customs, language, values and even jokes. The Chinese peers are neither racist nor discriminatory, but they are following their intrinsic human nature. The Japanese are xenophobic for this reason. Leaders of nations tend to originate from ethnic majorities mainly because majority of voters demand someone that shares their values and identity. Very often it is not about racism and the fear and discrimination of others. Ideally, merits transcend petty differences. Unfortunately, imperfections of human paranoia cloud our judgment and compel us to choose familiarity.

We have concluded racial issues deserve little merits of attention compared to the wider picture and subsequently discussed that not all distinctions are driven by discriminatory urges but more of compatibility. Why is it worth our unduly attention? It simply does not. It has been thrust upon us. As testament, Malaysians have longed ignored words of ‘muhibbah’, ‘bersatu-padu’, ‘berkerja-sama’ and what have you churning from the mouths of politicians. Malaysians know, once they return to their respective racial party conferences, tones and stands will change. Hypocrisy at its best. Unfortunately, many of us have been seduced in this unholy charade. Malaysians already know, without realizing it, they work along fine with their fellow countrymen. Malaysians know that we are a people for better or for worst.