You may think you are not racist, but watch yourself the next time you go shopping. Your choice of whom to buy your tow foo fa, nasi lemak, or apam from may betray your racial bias, as may your choice of a garage mechanic, taxi driver, or gardener.
Even those who consult witch doctors may have their racial biases. Some claim that the most powerful bomohs are from Thailand or India. “The Malay bomohs are not that powerful,” said one regular client.
Perhaps, after all, there is a bit of the racist in everyone of us, and perhaps some people think it’s quite harmless when we prefer a nasi lemak vendor or car repairer of a certain race.
But what happens when there is racial stereotyping and racism in educational establishments? When you send your child to school, you want him to receive an education, not a bruising from a fight. Nor do you want your child to be held back because he is from the wrong racial background. Nor do you wish him to be ostracised because he is of a certain race.
Stories of bullying in our schools and other incidents of increasing racial fragmentation in Malaysia have prompted a group of young Malaysian professionals to organise a conference about overcoming racism. It will be held in Melbourne on April 16.
Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM), a Melbourne-based group, hopes that this long overdue discussion between four prominent Malaysian activists will motivate Malaysians, both at home and abroad, to initiate conversations on overcoming racism and encourage support for civic groups that want to help the nation regain its feet.
The four are Noor Farida Ariffin of the G25 group, Kua Kia Soong of Suaram, Zaid Kamaruddin of Ikram and Jerald Joseph of Komas. They hope that their effort will restore the nation’s democratic health.
Regardless of who is right, how does one deal with the problem of bullying in school, particularly when it’s inter-ethnic? This question was posed to G25’s Noor Farida and Suaram’s Kua.
Noor Farida said, “Ramasamy was referring to the recent incident in a national school, where a Malay girl accused her Indian classmate of stealing an item from her and the class teacher made the Indian boy kneel before the girl to give his side of the story.
“That was an unacceptable way for the teacher to behave, and it was clearly racist, but I am not sure whether race-based bullying in school is rampant.
“But MCA’s Ti is correct in stating that school bullying is quite rampant in our schools and has little to do with race.”
Kua said, “Cases of ethnic bullying and racism are reported once in a while. The extent of the problem has to be established by an Equality and Human Rights Commission. It has to look into the severity of such abuses and punish the offenders. Victims of such abuses must not be afraid to come forward to report the incidents to such a commission.
“Institutional racism, within state institutions such as schools, needs to be thoroughly cleansed by an Equality Act and the thorough work of such a commission.”
The president of SABM, Praveen Nagappan, says it’s important that all the major Malaysian races be represented in any discussion of Malaysian issues.
“Irrespective of race or religion, each of us wants the same thing, a peaceful life without hating, or being hated,” he said. “This works both ways; the Malays understanding the non-Malays, and vice versa.
“We need to talk. It is in line with this vision that SABM Australia has organised this conference. We hope to spark a conversation on overcoming racism and segregation in Malaysia.”
The conference will be held between 10 am and 4 pm at the Brunswick Town Hall. It’s open to everyone, and admission is free.
Mariam Mokhtar is an Fmt columnist