PETALING JAYA – The nation’s political landscape saw a decline in incidents involving the peddling of racial and religious issues last year, despite a flurry of controversial remarks made by politicians.
Non-governmental organisation Pusat Komas’ 2023 Malaysia Racism Report detailed that a total of 50 incidents of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia were documented last year, with racial and religious politics making up 31.4% of the figure – a drop from 2022, when 82 cases were reported.
While incidents related to racial and religious politics continue to dominate the national scene, 2023’s trend on the issue plummeted from 46 to 16 cases, while the number of reported incidents in other sectors – provocation (nine), education (five), xenophobia (six) and other areas (15) – increased.
Programme director Ryan Yumin Chua asserted that the lesser number could be attributed to underreporting, especially since there is a lack of proper channels to direct complaints on suspected racial, religious or xenophobic issues, as well as the previous general election.
“(Between last year and the previous years), there is an obvious decrease in documented racial cases, maybe because in 2022, attention was focused on the general election, (where) a majority of politicians used race and religion as political tools.
“It’s also possible that there are many more instances that went unreported,” Chua told a press conference after the launch of the report here today.
While he commended the Unity Ministry’s e-Sepakat system, which allows citizens to file complaints on racial and religious issues, Chua recommended that a separate council be established to manage public woes on the matter.
As such, he reiterated calls for the setting up of a National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission to “promote awareness, educate and make recommendations to the government for the purpose of national unity.”
“Issues of discrimination could be inquired about and investigated, creating clear mechanisms to address the issue of racism and racial discrimination,” he added.
He also pointed out that while racial and religious rhetoric was known to make a more pronounced appearance during election season, recent Parliament sessions had also shown how politicians use certain topics to “score brownie points”.
Chua referenced multiple times displeased lawmakers had brought up the matter of bak kut teh being recognised as a national heritage dish as well as the government’s decision to stand by the existence of vernacular schools.
Overall, the report listed a total of 15 incidents involving racial and religious politics, with four reported cases each involving remarks made by former two-time prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang.
Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also made an appearance on the list, with the report singling out how he had accused Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of “letting non-Malays run the unity government”.
Other examples noted in the report were when Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor created “false perceptions discriminatory in nature” by alleging that non-Muslims were handing out bribes and when PKR’s Kota Anggerik assemblyman Najwan Halimi labelled Parti Sosialis Malaysia as an “Indian estate party”.
“Based on the reported cases, race and religion were consistently used by politicians to remain in power and to continue planting fear within their communities,” the report detailed.
“It is difficult when politicians continue to see Malaysia as a ‘Malay-first’ country and the Malays as the rightful owners of the land. This narrative was continuously pushed by highlighting the struggles faced by the Malay community (while) invalidating the contributions and struggles of non-Malay communities.”
For the record, incidents of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, as well as efforts to curb them, were compiled for the report from mainstream media, racism reports made to Pusat Komas and secondary sources such as accounts and views from individuals on social media.
The incidents were then examined “against international standards of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, as well as Malaysia’s commitment at the international level”, as well as their illustration of violations of basic rights under the Federal Constitution and the Rukun Negara.
The report was also based on definitions established by the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which Chua again urged the government to ratify. – March 15, 2024
