RACISM, it would seem, rears its ugly head at every pretext even when a thief wants to make good his lie, as the Plaza Low Yat violence demonstrates. Multiracial Malaysia, however, cannot afford to have racist sentiments stalk it 24/7 because that would be like walking in a minefield, one false step and “kaboom”, destruction. Regardless that annihilation is unlikely, but whatever survives that explosion is not going to be pretty. That the peace and prosperity is fragile cannot be swept under the carpet. Malaysian society is too pitted with prejudices cutting along communal lines, and it is time to admit this and deal with it. What is most destructive to a vision of a united Malaysia is the deep-rooted prejudices that are still harboured within pockets of society, stemming from past and present racially-tainted incidents. It is made worse by irresponsible community leaders and members of non-governmental organisations, who propagate half-truths and incite the people to view issues and problems along communal lines.
The Plaza Low Yat incident is a classic example of such prejudice where a Malay mob decided to take matters into their own hands based on a false premise that one of them was cheated by Chinese shopkeepers. The tone of the falsehood that spread through social media like wildfire was that the Chinese community was thriving economically at the expense of the Malays. It also does not help that in recent years we have had many so-called community leaders who have persisted in fanning the race flame by condoning acts, such as the “cow head” incident, protesting against the putting up of a cross in a church and the throwing of pork into the compound of mosques. The provocation by such leaders is all that is needed to set off a time bomb that could see a repeat of the darkest incident in Malaysia’s history 46 years ago. And this is not where any sane, peace-loving Malaysian would want to tread. That the economic pie is supposedly divided according to ethnic lines also inevitably leads to unease when expectations are not met. However, the future is yet to happen. The transformation programmes now underway to take the country to fully-developed status must encompass this urgent need.
No doubt every aspect of the Plaza Low Yat disturbance is criminal, but racist undertones coloured the fracas and gave it the momentum to grow a mob from a small crowd. Malaysians have a tendency to identify with one another along racial lines and this explains how the thief can so easily instigate his friends and the bloggers to foment chaos. By all accounts, once upon a time, this country was racially plural but not racist. Children played together without regard for colour or creed. Along the way, a poisoned chalice was passed round and far too many drank from it. The time has come to eliminate that chalice so Malaysians may together drink from a clear spring nourishing a spirit of oneness. For, racism is that weak link easily exploited to bring an Arab Spring to these shores. Malaysia must become united soon, preferably yesterday.