In defence of racism | Kapil Sethi | The Malay Mail Online

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/opinion/kapil-sethi/article/in-defe...

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In defence of racism
August 14, 2013 Kapil is an advertising strategist based in KL, who likes nothing better than to figure out why people behave the way they do. Naturally this forces him to spend most of his time lounging in coffeeshops and bars. He can be reached at kapilanski@yahoo.com

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In defence of racism | Kapil Sethi | The Malay Mail Online

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AUG 14 Why is racism wrong? Why should the different races and religions in Malaysia get along, be accommodating of and understand each other's point of view? Maybe a lack of patriotism and unity is not unusual for a nation that cannot define a sense of identity even in terms of the simplest question of what it means to be a Malaysian. This absence of a defining notion of Malaysian identity leads to almost every issue being seen from the lens of who is the one doing the talking. When the Sisters in Islam talk, they are either praised for their liberal Islamic values or vilified for exactly the same. The merits of their arguments are secondary to who they represent. Whether the issue is one of corruption, justice, the economy or education, ordinary secular conversations tend to be framed as an us versus them narrative. When the accepted stereotypes are about the Malays having government, the Chinese having business and the Indians having crime, it is not hard to frame every problem as a result of, or as the cause of the stereotype being true. Maybe it is time to explore another type of national narrative. One which is centred on accepting the current reality and building from it, rather than artificially trying to create a sense of national identity by ignoring the very real divisions that lie underneath. Two real times when differences between races and religions are suppressed are when greed or humanism come to the fore. Economic greed leads to the most unlikely bedfellows in Ali Baba partnerships. Greed for the future of the next generation leads to Malay kids going to Chinese schools. Greed for a fulfilling personal life leads to intermarriages. Equally, a shared sense of empathy pulls otherwise separated groups together. There are some things that go beyond our clan, race and religious ties to evoke a sense of our shared humanity. When a tsunami strikes, or a neighbour's house goes up in flames or a poor girl is orphaned or struck down by a disease expensive to cure or cannot complete her education, this impulse kicks in. In this way of thinking, all other matters then continue to be seen through the lens of parochial self-identity. As long as my material well-being and sense of humanity are not compromised, why can I not be Malay first? There may be merits to this way of thinking for a more harmonious Malaysia too. To take a recent example of the Seri Prestina incident, if the non-Muslim parent was offended by the treatment meted out to her daughter, she could choose to enrol her daughter in a vernacular school (which she later did), and it would be for the majority community to introspect on the morality of the school's actions and the future of so-called national schools. Again, in the case of the Muslim girls barred from participating in a beauty pageant, it is for the adherents of that religion to debate whether the action is fair. If the notion of there being no compulsion in Islam is really central to the evolution of the faith, it will emerge without the help of others. For the Christians equally for example, it is for them to introspect how central is the use of the word "Allah" for their god in Malay language Bibles and then decide whether to
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08/09/2013 11:47 AM

In defence of racism | Kapil Sethi | The Malay Mail Online

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/opinion/kapil-sethi/article/in-defe...

compromise or take the issue on with all the resources at their disposal. If there is sufficient resonance within the religion or the race for or against a particular issue, it will become part of the national discourse, drawing in the government, the opposition and the judiciary, otherwise it will die a natural death. When racism is framed as an internal struggle for the hearts and minds of its adherents rather than an us-versus-them polemic, it has its virtues. It helps its adherents to debate the boundaries of their racial and religious affiliation without needing to frame everybody else as the enemy. Then Perkasa has to convince fellow Muslims as to the merits of butt exercises as a sanctified form of protest first, before it defines the target as Hindu or Muslim. Do Muslims even want Perkasa to represent them? And when communal issues are debated within the community first, it opens the doors for much more self-confident and productive interaction between various communities on things that matter equally material well-being and our shared humanity. When communal matters remain communal, maybe there is more space for a genuine Malaysian identity to emerge, with media space devoted more to the things that unite rather than things that separate. After all the land of smiles and the land of the free are expressions of national character above and beyond ethnicity and religion. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist.

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