I had to pen a few words in the recent fiasco involving the "No Indians" job posting that is viral. But first let me start with 4 personal experiences.
The first, in 1981. Having aced my high school exams with straight A's, I was interviewed for a place in the medicine (matriculation) programme at Universiti Malaya. At the interview, the interviewer, an elderly Malay man, told me that while my results were sterling, he will not award me a place in UM. The reason was "Thambi, kamu punya results, "kita punya orang" memang tak boleh kalahkan. Kamu gerenti bolot kesemua award dalam 5 tahun kelak". The ministry gave me an offer to pursue agricultural science at another local university. Fortunately, the Singapore government gave me a scholarship to further my studies there. In my batch of 20 sponsored students, 18 original Malaysians are now highly placed Singaporeans. I came back to KL.
The second incident was in 1985. I was dating a Chinese girl and she was room hunting. I took her on my motorbike to view several rooms. At every prospect, the landlord would tell us "no vacancy" in spite of the the signboard outside. I then asked her to go in alone to enquire about the vacancy without my presence. At the very first house in Section 17,PJ, she got the room. We firmly believe that an Indian man as the tenant's companion was not acceptable to the (Chinese) landlords.
The third was in 2003 in a professional organization in KL, with a staff-force of almost 1,500 where the Indian Malaysians made up less than 10%. I was already a very senior person in the company then. During lunch, one manager, a young Chinese boy, was heard uttering "we should not allow the secretaries to eat their lunch(es) at their table. The whole place smells like an Indian...". He is now one of the leaders in this company. So you can imagine the culture within the firm now.
The final incident was in 2009 in Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles. I walked into a luxury goods shop and asked to see a Jaeger Lacoute "Reverso" watch. The salesgirl, an older Chinese woman, sort of hesitated to take the watch out from the show cabinet. Just then my Chinese girlfriend walked in and exclaimed that the watch was the same as what I was already wearing (I kinda hid that when asking to view) - the saleswoman literally jumped to take the watch out of the cabinet and was extremely sweet to me thereon. I'm not exactly sure till now whether she was racist or just thought I was too poor to be shopping in her store....with my bermuda shorts and "singlet".
For those following the recent brouhaha, I'm sure you would have been pretty offended by what "Kevin" first wrote, and then tried to justify orally, and finally produced 2 versions of an apology - all which went viral. And this led to comedic, idiotic and apologetic responses by the public.
Wait, did I say you would have been pretty offended ? How silly of me. From the various comments I've seen, not ALL Malaysians were offended. Let's analyze this.
Malays kept out of this debate because:
1) some shared the same view as Kevin,
2) some were happy the "kelings" were whacking the Chinese instead,
3) some were preoccupied praying for the Corona virus to kill off 30% of the Chinese,
4) some couldn't be bothered as it did not involve (their) race or religion for a change,
5) there was no fatwa on the discrimination of kaffirs from Zakir nor Asri,
6) well, in general, they were not "black skinned" and so it didn't apply to them, and
7) they have the full force of the government in case anyone said something similar against them. Imagine if Kevin had said no Malays because they were prone to corruption and generally lazy/stupid ?
The Chinese Malaysians responded partisanly to this because:
1) some were as disgusted at his attitude and it didn't represent the majority of Chinese here,
2) some AGREED with him and saw nothing wrong. Afterall, racism is our way of life. Live with it or immigrate to Australia-lah,
3) some saw it as purely a business decision (and nothing personal) and Kevin's faux pax was forgiven because he was just a "Chinaman" (who probably couldn't defend his actions articulately) doing business here, (mind you, if his customers were mainly Chinese, he could have said "Mandarin speakers only" - so this justification is totally lame),
4) some are cringing at the expected outcry and are trying to mediate somewhat the repercussions.
Ahh, the "Indians". Now this gets colourful. Indians were outraged generally because:
1) bad enough we are screwed everyway in Malaysian society, now this "bloody bastard Chinaman" (as colourfully put by one Indian uncle in a viral response voicemail) makes silly justifications for his inept ad,
2) some feel that ALL Chinese are racist and/or crooked so coming from this fellow, it is to be expected. I had one private message saying (verbatim) that "it's in their DNA/psyche. They are the most productive people in the world but equally, the most self centred/unpleasant on earth. Very hard to defend because this lack of decency is to be expected of them",
3) some felt that we should not prolong these rantings because we are a "small and powerless" minority who need the Chinese on our side in politics otherwise the Malays will bully us further,
4) some felt that Kevin was being honest (albeit crude) and at least, not hypocritical as the remaining 99% of the Chinese,
5) some Indians hid under the cloak because "we are Ceylonese/Malayalee and not the same as them Indians". Ironically, the Ceylonese (Sri Lankan Tamil origin), are, in my opinion, one of the most racist lot in our country. You know who you are.
The Sikhs reluctantly (honestly, they rather drink beer....) joined in the fray because SOME consider themselves Indians and are offended by Kevin's slur. Most, feel like the Ceylonese. Being of lighter shade (in general), they assume a sense of superiority somehow. Afterall, 100 years ago, they were associated as the "Benggali Puteh".
As for me, I've dated women of all races/religions when young(er), married a Chindian in my 20's, and in my not so youthful days now, hooked up with a Chinese woman who has Malay siblings/relatives. Our makan-makan sessions are what you would call a "muhibah" example. So it's hard to label me a racist. I've heard and seen all forms of discrimination and am generally, quite immune to it. But I will speak up when necessary.
Coming back to Kevin. Well, the poor fellow lost his job (well) and was made to apologize publicly for his "mistake". I'm not sure how the colour of one's skin will prevent a China customer from buying a property in Malaysia. If a black American was the salesman, would this change Kevin's excuse? I can tell you, many Malaysian companies hire "coloured" Americans here because it helps sell the company's image as an "international" company. In America, 60% of the ads feature black/asian/hispanic Americans - they have matured from being colour conscious (well, in most areas). In Malaysia, it's race, religion and sadly sometimes, colour. I have been called for many casting calls and sometimes, the producer will say "we prefer fair skinned talents because the lighting suits them better". I recall, many years ago, Mat Rahmat, the then Information Minister, banning models of "Pan Asian" features from RTM ads because they did not portray Malaysians correctly. Ironically, there was some wisdom in his thinking.
Until Malaysia passes some anti discriminatory laws, being Malaysians, we will be prone to labelling others. How nice it is when we are overseas and asked of our origin by say, an American, 90% of the time we will say "I'm Malaysian". ICERD was one way to have cultivated this but the bigots in our country scuppered the plan. Our leadership lacks the will (or does it?) to ensure all Malaysians are really equal under the law, not the Orwellian equality we have now.
Finally, how about the Gragos in Malaysia, what are they saying about Kevin's explanation? Well, I think being "neither here nor there" in their disposition, they are staying out of the debate. Afterall, they are in the "middle" of everything and win either way.
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