KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 ― Malaysians in the peninsula are “average or “selectively” racist, Centre for a Better Tomorrow (Cenbet) said today, citing findings from a recent survey conducted for its Racism Index.

According to the index unveiled this morning, peninsular Malaysians scored 59.1 per cent on the index, putting them in the “average or selectively racist” category, behind the categories “racist” and “moderately racist”.

Cenbet co-president Gan Ping Sieu said that the survey showed that although many Malaysians here do not see themselves racist, their answers appeared to indicate they still have racist tendencies.

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“Despite what we say, we are generally and selectively racist in nature. We have shades of racism in us,” he said.

According to the study’s findings, 60 per cent of respondents declared themselves “not racist”, 28 per cent said they have a shade of racism, 9 per cent openly declared themselves racists while 3 per cent said they did not know.

The study also showed that of the 60 per cent that who said they were not racist, 30 per cent said they would not vote for an MP who is of a different race from them.

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A total of 34 per cent of those in the same group also said they felt that race-based politics was still relevant.

In view of Cenbet’s findings, Gan urged the government to establish a national unity index to measure public policies.

“If a public policy deviates from this unity index, the ministries concerned must give reasons why,” he said.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup who is in charge of national unity and integration had in June last year said the National Unity Consultative Council’s (NUCC) blueprint on unity would be tabled in Cabinet “soon”.

Cenbet’s survey was conducted by Anderson Market Analytics, and involved 1,056 respondents from across the peninsula in varying age, income and racial groups that reflect the overall population.

Cenbet said today it will release more detailed findings from the survey soon.