There seems to be more and more posts how Malays and Indians are treated by some racists in Singapura.
Whether it is about a Chinese woman moving away with irritation from an Indian man who sat beside her on the MRT..
a Malay man “paid” $20 to move away from a table because the payer’s children do not want to sit beside a Malay..
A Hijabi told she had to remove her hijab if she worked at a Montessori preschool because Chinese children will be scared if she wore her hijab…
An older Chinese man in Jurong who pulls off hijab of Muslim women who walk past…
And some of us assume there is a change….that Singapura is becoming more racist.
No it is not.
Racism has been there for a long time. I still remember being called “kiao tor” (dig mud/ skin like mud) from when I was a kid…
Used to work in sales and when I spoke with prospects in English..being told “if you cannot speak Chinese don’t talk to me”…
Told “this is Chinese country why dont you speak Chinese?”
When I worked for a shipping company…my Chinese colleague telling me that there was no way Malays and Indians would be promoted…
When I told him a senior manager is Indian he replied…”because he has 7 different degrees. Dont think we would promote Indian if his qualification is the same with a Chinese”…
My 15 year old Malay neighbour giving up and asked me why I bother to take A Levels….and said..
“why do you bother to study? we are Malays…we cannot go anywhere” (Kau belajar tinggi tinggi buat apa? kita Melayu…tak boleh pergi mana mana).
Applying to join the Navy when I was in school and told when I submitted the papers… not to bother because I am Muslim.
Relatives told to remove hijab at work because their bosses do not like it.
Hearing Chinese friends tell a joke “what do you call an Indian under a tree? Fertilizer”.
And lots of other similar comments.
Racism in Singapura is not new.
There is no change to a more racist society.
What changed is that there is now social media to show its existence.
Source: Zulfikar Shariff
