It's amazing how Ibrahim Saad can't see that racism today is worse than it has ever been.
Every rational Malaysian knows that our race and religious relations have seen better days. However, according to National Civics Bureau (BTN) chief Ibrahim Saad, racism today is “not as bad” as it was in the 1970s and 1980s.
He was quoted as saying so in a recent forum in Shah Alam.
Go ahead and laugh because you have the right to wonder about his sanity. Anyone who has lived through the 70s and 80s would say Ibrahim was spewing hogwash.
Let’s face it. There have always been racists and bigots through time and continents. However, people who are old enough will tell you that things were much better back in the 70s and 80s. No one ever got offended by the sight of a cross on a building, and students in schools and universities mixed freely without caring about the racial backgrounds of their friends.
Perhaps there were racists back then too, but they were discreet, probably due to the lack of channels to show their true colours.
It is only today that we have the likes of Jamal Mohd Yunos and Ali Tinju, people who have no qualms about spewing loud racist speeches at the slightest provocation. And they get away with it too. It is only today that we have political parties encouraging bigots to play with racial and religious sentiments. And yes, politicians themselves do make use of racism for political purposes, without being reprimanded by their superiors.
At the Shah Alam forum, Ibrahim also said that racism in the country would peak only in election seasons, courtesy of “certain quarters” who exploit sensitive issues for their own gain. But in the same breath, he urged the audience not to blame politicians, “whose job is to seek influence.”
He also claimed that Malaysians have become more mature now, “following their exposure to the knowledge available online.”
What is he talking about? It is the Internet and social media that have brought out the worst in people today. They spout insensitive, rude and uncouth remarks about races and religions without the slightest worry about repercussions.
Ibrahim’s arguments are flawed, any which way you look at it. But then, what can you expect from someone who heads an organisation that once defended the use of the word “pendatang” to describe the Chinese and Indians in Malaysia and also claimed that racism could have a good purpose?
He would be better off acknowledging the obvious – that racism is getting worse and needs to be addressed before bigots smash to bits whatever is left of the harmony that our ancestors built.
Original article from http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2016/04/21/how-can-you-get-it-so-wrong-mr-btn-chief/
