Racial Streotyping

In Malaysia, the racial stereotypes come in different ways. Some are sensitive and some comes from the cultural. For an example, Malays are often labeled as coming up late for any event, laziness while Indians are labeled for their rowdyism and harshness and Chinese are labeled for their selfishness. These stereotypes are used in every single issue. For example, Siti might be late for an event for the first time due to car breakdown but eventually she will be labeled as “Not surprised as Malays are always late”. This happens for Indians too, if someone is fighting for their rights when an accident occurs in the roadside, people starts commenting as “Started this Indians, they and their fight”.

Under racial stereotyping, there is a news where our former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad told that “the Chinese are a wealthy lot” and “control all the towns in the country” and that would be examples of such stereotyping. According to the Department of Statistics, 70% of Chinese Malaysians in 2016 belonged to the working class. In fact, even at the time of independence, the majority of Chinese, as the well-known economist (the late) James Puthucheary pointed out, were employees and not employers of capital. If some Chinese from working-class backgrounds have become rich over the years, it is because of opportunities and mobility afforded by the prevailing socio-economic system, apart from their own hard work, perseverance and frugality. This leads us to one more generalize that should be investigated. There are numerous non-Malays who contend that Malays practice absolute imposing business model over political force. This isn't correct in the event that one appreciates the nature and advancement of political force in Malaysia.

The stereotype about Malay laziness, notwithstanding, is maybe the simply one bought in to by certain leaders, as Dr Mahathir, of the focused on individuals themselves. Dr Mahathir has clung on to this generalization for quite a long time despite overpowering proof actually and the wide range of persuasive arguments in Syed Hussein Alatas' The Myth of the Lazy Native (1977). It is surprising when such statement comes from a leader giving negative feed in his own race.

But deep down, as you can see, things are not as before. Indians who are labeled as rowdy are doing well in their education and becoming lawyers and doctors. Malays who are called as laziness are working hard to earn money and running business while Chinese labeled as selfish are helping out everyone. I believe that these kinds of stereotypes are becoming a barrier for the future youngsters to mingle. In this issue, parents and school teachers plays a main role where they need to educate their children in their young age. Feeding them with such stereotypes will somehow cause racism issue in the future.