Time to shake off colonial mentality
LETTERS
Saturday, 08 Feb 2020
https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/lett ... -mentality
I REFER to the letter “No room for discretion in immigration control” https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/lett ... on-control (The Star, Feb 6). My husband has suffered his fair share of discrimination and prejudice because of his skin colour.
It is very common for white people get a free pass in Malaysia because of their skin colour. It is quite obvious that many Malaysians are obsessed with white people, and that is a fact.
While it is not a problem at all to treat anyone kindly, those who are dark skinned and look like they come from non-developed countries are being treated poorly and discriminated against. Sometimes they are treated like criminals even when they are just minding their own business.
In contrast, those who are white are automatically called expatriates (even though some of them aren’t). People give way for them, are friendlier towards them and they are given special attention by local flight attendants and retail assistants. Even these white people notice that they are given special treatment because they are white.
But let us call this what it is – blatant racism.
I have personally undergone this discrimination, and it was a painful experience. My non-Malaysian, non-white husband who was travelling from Singapore to Malaysia was refused entry at KLIA2 by the Immigration Department. He was detained at the holding centre and I was not even allowed to contact him.
But that was not the worst part for him. At the holding centre, he saw and experienced first-hand the blatant racism shown by immigration officers to non-whites. Food packages were thrown at them. They were made to endure the freezing room, which left many shivering, and the toilets were in a deplorable state. Furthermore, they were not told why their entry into the country was being rejected and were shouted at when they asked. One person was even manhandled by an officer for losing a piece of paper everyone in the holding room had been told to keep.
On the other hand, the Caucasians at the centre (there were a few) were given the explanations they requested and their deportation process was quickly handled.
My husband suffered a migraine due to the freezing temperature in the cell, but the immigration officer refused to give him medicine. Their attitude towards him only changed when they realised he spoke fluent English and after he explained that he was from Australia.
I can go on about the abuse faced by non-white foreigners by immigration staff, but that is another (brutal) story for another time.
I am pretty sure many Malaysians with non-white foreign spouses have similar stories to tell. Sadly, this discriminatory attitude is not confined to the authorities alone. The tendency to view Caucasians with rose-coloured glasses is deeply ingrained in our society. Just look at our entertainment sector where Pan-Asian celebrities are worshipped because they are considered beautiful. Majority of models in Malaysia are of European descent and white people are being highlighted for their ability to speak Bahasa Malaysia. But there are many non-whites who can also speak Malay fluently.
We admire the way white people live and do things because their way apparently is the best way.
We pride ourselves on being an independent country after breaking away from British rule more than 60 years ago. But looking at where we are now, it looks like we have a long way to go before we can free ourselves from our colonial mentality.
A FRUSTRATED CITIZEN
Petaling Jaya
