Dream That Became A Nightmare

By Natalie Shobana Ambrose
theSun, Malaysia (page 15)
December 29th, 2011
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/251497

Yale law professor and writer Amy Chua, midfielder Yossi Benayoun, singer Rihanna, designer John Galliano, football coach John Terry and student Alexandra Wallace, to name a few, have either been chastised as racist or have had to bear the brunt of derogatory remarks in the past year.

It seems that the overarching theme of 2011 besides the obvious economic uncertainty, multiple global protests and natural disasters has been race relations. It’s been a rather racial year not just globally but also locally and we in Malaysia take it further to include religion in this prickly mix. It’s such a contested topic that clearly divides, yet not a day goes by when race or religion is not discussed in the public sphere.

A simple example. My Christmas shopping this year included multiple purchases at bookstores, so much so I ended up with free loyalty cards. This process included filling up an intrusive form that not only required details of my income bracket but in true Malaysian fashion – provided a list of ethnicities to choose from. I abstained and wrote a note on the form which the customer relations officer refuted saying that the information was merely for the company’s database. Yet I found my Christmas buzz interrupted by the topic of race by a silly form and the backwardness of these bookstores.

How do we move forward when even our social lives and what books we purchase are analysed through the sieve of which race box is ticked or not ticked? To take it further, we are revisiting the Race Relations Act.

Britain, Hongkong, Australia and Canada are among the few countries that have anti-discrimination laws to prevent hate speech and hate crimes. Ours is said to follow that of the British. However the question remains, with local legal frameworks including our Constitution (the much debated Article 153), the NEP and the Sedition Act to name a few, will this Race Relations Act truly champion anti-discriminatory practices or will it protect those who discriminate under the guise of protecting national interests?

It’s a pity that the biggest problem of a country that boasts about being one, is the issue of race. Yet what is happening is that our politicians are having one-way conversations and patting themselves on the back in a false sense of victory. Not only are they inciting racial disharmony, they are also the ones making up the laws with little consultation with the people most affected – the rakyat. Fortunately, Malaysians have drawn a line in the sand, something Mark Mykleby calls the “democratisation of expectations”, highlighted in a recent New York Times article by Thomas Friedman. He describes it as “the expectation that all individuals should be able to participate in shaping their own career, citizenship and future, and not be constricted”.

For a year filled with racist remarks from politicians, is the proposed Race Relations Act one that will punish the real perpetrators and instigators? Or will it go against the democratisation of expectations and feed off the discriminating comments of our politicians?

The past year alone has shown that we have not matured, rather we are doing a Benjamin Button and becoming dangerously juvenile. Instead of growing up to face the real challenges of corruption, urban and rural poverty, brain drain (it is a long list), the focus is on perceived and imagined threats. So instead of addressing real problems, race is attached to every issue, causing us to digress and lose focus.

There is no doubt that tempers flare and voices rise when we speak of race. However when the discussion is about discrimination, there is no grey matter – it is just wrong and should not have place in a country such as ours. Yet if anything, this year has proven to be one of missed opportunities for our leaders to ensure just that. Their silence and condoning of discriminatory events and bigoted statements from various factions have proven an inherent insincerity when speaking about a united Malaysia – a 1Malaysia.

There comes a point when you have to hold politicians accountable and the ballot box has always been the place where the rakyat read the riot act to errant politicians.

This year started as a year of dreams and hopes but quickly turned out to be a spiralling nightmare and a telltale of what 2012 will be, especially with the possibility of an election. On my wish list for 2012 is the hope that solidarity between the races is enhanced because without it we cannot call ourselves Malaysia.

Natalie is hoping for a better 2012 - perhaps after the election. 

Happy New Year Malaysia!

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