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Civil group notes rise in racism, xenophobia in 2021 as Malaysians ease up from Covid-19 lockdowns

People walk past a mural on New Year's Day in Kuala Lumpur January 1, 2022. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri
People walk past a mural on New Year's Day in Kuala Lumpur January 1, 2022. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — Malaysia has seen a rise in publicised incidents of racial discrimination, according to human rights group Pusat Komas, which recorded 51 such incidents reported on online news media last year.

During the release of its “Malaysia Racial Discrimination Report 2021” today, Pusat Komas which has tracked reports of incidents of racism for the past seven years, said there was an increase compared to the 21 cases in 2020.

“This increase can be attributed to the gradual easing of Covid-19 restrictions throughout the year, the eventual resumption of Parliamentary proceedings following the petition of civil society and opposition lawmakers, as well as state elections in Melaka and Sarawak.

“All these factors potentially contribute to an increase in interaction among people, which may lead to an increase in the expression of interracial hostility and tension,” read the report.

It added that there were 50 incidents recorded in 2019 and 76 incidents in 2018 — which was the highest recorded since the yearly study began in 2015.

Pusat Komas also listed details of all 51 incidents it recorded last year.

The top three categories were “racial and religious politics” at 28 per cent, “racial and religious provocation at 23 per cent” and “xenophobia” at 13 per cent.

These included cases such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in December 2021 saying the Chinese community’s continued usage of chopsticks was an example of the difficulty of assimilating the non-Malay population into the country.

An incident where two Muslim bodyguards alleged that they were beaten by their non-Muslim employer for fasting for during the Ramadhan month was also recorded.

Other categories of racial discrimination recorded by Pusat Komas were “racial discrimination in the education sector” (11 per cent), “racism and racial discrimination in other sectors” (11 per cent), “racism in media and the internet” (8 per cent), and “racial discrimination in the business sector” (6 per cent).

The report also recorded 61 “efforts” to combat racism in Malaysia, such as Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh defending her decision to wear a headscarf when visiting a mosque in December last year, as well as former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s cautioning Malaysians against politicians who use racial matters for personal gain.

In conclusion, Pusat Komas called for better behaviour from politicians, stronger implementation of the National Unity Blueprint, and the setting up of an independent national body or commission to fight racism, among others.

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