Ilaiya Barathi Paneerselvam, 26, said that after nearly four weeks of searching for a room in Penang, no one wanted to rent it to him.
Barathi said that after answering more than 20 ads online and being told the rooms were “unavailable”, he felt his ethnic makeup was a factor.
The man from Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, who is moving here to work, was surprised to see “racial preference” sections in popular room-for-rent listing sites such as Mudah and iBilik.
Barathi, who is taking up a position as a college lecturer in Jelutong on Nov 15, has been looking for a room for nearly a month.
“It is an irony that having fought racial discrimination in all forms, I am now subject to the same form of discrimination that I have been advocating against.
“I was stunned at first, but later I got angry, as most of the property owners in Penang appear to be comfortable with Chinese, Malays, or even expatriates. Just look at the ads on these websites,” he said.
He said after calling and texting more than 20 landlords or agents in search of a room in Dato Keramat or Jelutong, he found one in Karpal Singh Drive.
However, he said, the rental was beyond his budget of RM300 a month – and it was the smallest room in the apartment.
“I found one listing on a website that did not have any racial preference. First, the agent said the rental was RM400. When I turned it down, he found me another room for RM350. It was still beyond my budget, but I said okay since I was desperate,” he said.
Barathi said the government must enact laws against discrimination so that minority groups did not suffer in the long run.
“I am sure I am not alone. There must be many others caught in the same situation,” he said.
Last December, Divyang Hong had a tough time looking for a place to stay in Bukit Mertajam. Despite speaking fluent Mandarin, he was told that he was “not Chinese enough” after he said he was of Chinese and Indian parentage.
In January, a man said he had similar problems when renting a house in Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur for RM2,000 a month. A landlord refused to rent the place to him as he looked “Indian or Malay”.