MALAYSIA has a strange relationship with race relations. On the one hand, we sell to the world the image of a multiracial smorgasbord living together. On the other, we live in silos and house unhealthy suspicion of those who are our fellow countrymen but have different skin colours. This has been cultivated by decades of imperialist-minded, right-wing political parties who build their empires on racial and religious division. Sixty years of Barisan Nasional rule has normalised communal politics where race-based political parties are formed and maintain their supporters through an illusion of protecting their own.

We can see this evidently now with the current government made up of parties championing racial supremacy more openly than ever. Some even called for racial exclusivity in the cabinet, asserting only one race should lead the country as it makes up the majority. Strangely, these kinds of rhetoric have some sort of indefeasibility. While critique of the majority race often elicits threats, harassment even legal action at times, the reverse does not always carry repercussions of the same weight. The favouritism is stark.

Mira Filzah and structural racism

Recently, a picture Mira Filzah posted on Instagram went viral for all the wrong reasons. She was wearing an Indian lehenga in a photoshoot for a product that is to be released soon. This was seen as cultural appropriation and, like everything related to race or religion in Malaysia, opinions were split. For me, there are many facets to this issue to uncover and we must be both compassionate and open-minded enough to accept uncomfortable realities.

Cultural appropriation is a real, tangible issue that exists all around the world. In Malaysia, it is blown out of proportion due to the entanglement of identity to politics and material conditions. To me, Mira’s photoshoot is indicative of a larger phenomenon of cultural appropriation that happens quite often in Malaysia. In short, it is a feeling among minorities that what they have to offer is wanted but they themselves are not.

To elaborate on this, it must be acknowledged that racial minorities are subject to systemic racism in Malaysia under the guise of positive economic discrimination whereby we are told about scholarships, discounts, government aid and other special treatment to which we have no access. We are taught that the reason for these economic assistances are to equalise the disproportionate share of capital among racial groups (i.e. the majority racial group owning less than the rest). However, we see our friends from the majority race who are well-to-do, more so than ourselves, still getting the support intended for the lower class of their race.

We then hear strange new justifications for the special rights. Instead of an economic assistance to uplift less fortunate members of the community, we are told that they are a birthright, that somehow by being born into a certain race they are deserving of better treatment and more respect. We are subject to political rhetoric that paints us in a negative light.

The responsibility of the majority race

After generations of being treated as second-class citizens and having elements of our culture being subjected to ridicule, suddenly we see the majority race picking out parts of our culture to be worn as mere aesthetic tokens without ever addressing the deeply racial difficulties we face. This makes us feel invalidated as the very things that our people have created are co-opted by those who treat us as lesser beings. Of course, one might say that the individual who donned the clothes themselves do not hold any racist feelings. This, in my opinion, is not a valid argument.

The racial sentiments intertwined within the fabric of Malaysian society make it impossible for us to separate the responsibility of uplifting the discriminated races from the majority race. This is because political power is concentrated with the majority race, such that they make a very effective pressure group to instil changes to how things are run locally. Individuals from this race then hold a specific responsibility to speak out against discrimination as much as they can wherever they find it. To stand by and not get involved is not an option as keeping silent is not a neutral act. Rather, it indirectly maintains the status quo.

It might seem shallow and reductionist to boil everything down to racial relations and political activism. However, the reality of the fragile racial situation in Malaysia is such that all members of the majority race who care about racial equality need to be vocal and normalise the push for ending systemic discrimination. Until and unless they do, any utilisation of a minority race’s culture for profit and without the acknowledgement of the said community will seem a usurpation.

Culture is flexible and immaterial but it matters

Of course, another argument that pops up is the fact that culture is ever-changing and flexible, especially in a culturally diverse region such as Nusantara. However, this is not an argument, it is simply a matter of fact that every current culture evolved from those before and will amalgamate into new ones. Anyone pushing for gatekeeping to keep others from enjoying their culture is not only misunderstanding the origins of culture but also fighting a losing battle against natural processes that happen over time. Hence, the sudden Indian racial purists and segregationists that popped up after the Mira incident are silly.

However, we progressives must not automatically look down on them and denounce them as having a colonialist mindset. In fact, the outcry is against the neo-imperialist agenda of undermining the legitimate ownership of minority races over Malaysia. In the media, minorities are viewed with suspicion or their beliefs are painted as subversive, either directly or through subtle wording. Sometimes, even the person uttering these statements do not understand how offensive they are being. For example, they might say things like ‘Wow even when they aren’t Muslims they still behave in a good manner’. While the sentiment is one of praise or appreciation, the unspoken assumption is that being Muslim is the standard by which everyone is judged.

The discrimination even bleeds into material matters. For Indians specifically, we see a greater difficulty in renting a home and even gettting call-backs from employers. This stripping of basic necessities impacts upon how a group acts towards another, especially one that holds as much political power as the Malays. On top of that, we get front row seats to the majority race co-opting our clothing or our food while denying us? No, we don’t have any political power or even economic power but we do have power over our culture and you don’t get to have it without us.

Is this right? Is this the perfect solution? Of course not! But we need to take every opportunity to educate the masses and empower the disempowered. Culture might not be material, but to those without material power, it matters. Until we eradicate structural racism or at least erect mechanisms to eventual eradicate it through education, the majority race, as the ones holding political power, must step up to help if they don’t want to be labelled cultural appropriators. – August 24, 2020.

* Arveent Kathirtchelvan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.