LETTERS: The recent slur used against our badminton player that evoked vehement criticisms should also bring attention to the widely used slur against South Asian Muslims in the country.
The South Asian Muslims are the only community in Malaysia whose identity is based on a racial slur, "mamak", which is normalised in the name of convenience.
I once witnessed a highly educated and accomplished South Asian Muslim doctor being insulted as "mamak" by a chief nurse in a leading hospital in Selangor. This led to others laughing at the doctor.
No action was taken against the nurse or others acting in such a way because the human resources staff often turn a blind eye to the insults towards this community.
This continues to happen where South Asian Muslims work and study. So much so, the slur "mamak" is used without any consequences.
The slur might find its origin from the humble term "mama" or "uncle" as used in most South Asian languages, including Urdu. However, it has long evolved to be a racial slur used to humiliate South Asian Muslim men, women and children.
This is not a unique sociological phenomenon: the term "thambi" or "brother" is often used by Sri Lankan Sinhalese to insult Sri Lankan Tamils. Hence, a term that might find its origin from a respectful term could also be transmuted into a racial slur by its users.
Since 2008, there have been frequent calls to boycott South Asian Muslim community's businesses whenever they refused to kowtow to certain people's agenda and propaganda.
Regrettably, in the minds of some, South Asian Muslims were born to serve "teh tarik", hence they should not have opinions of their own.
It is worth pointing out that the contributions of the South Asian Muslim community here are immense. Despite their small numbers and the barrage of slurs and bigotries they endure day in and day out, they thrive and prosper in Malaysia.
They are an extremely industrious society that works long hours and possesses excellent work ethics. They have risen to the highest echelon of finance, led and championed consumers, established schools and universities, built majestic mosques and cooked some of the most delicious cuisines in the world.
Give them noodles, they will turn them into the mouth-watering "mi goreng"; give them bread, they will turn it into "roti canai" and "murtabak"; give them fried cuttlefish and fishball, they will turn them into "pasembur"; give them tea and they will turn it into "teh tarik". And give them spices, they will give you some of the most delicious rice dishes and curries in the world.
Yet, they and their cuisine have never received the recognition like the French and Italians are receiving in Malaysia. Worse, in some cases, the media refused to call their cuisine South Asian Muslim cuisines.
It is imperative that those who used the term "mamak" are held accountable at work, school and society at large. Having lost their homeland in 1947, Malaysia is now their only home and they deserve dignity.
The correct term to define them is South Asian Muslims and that identity should be widely used to address them in Malaysia.
R.B.
Penang
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times