KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 — Malaysians posed questions on Reddit without fear of reprisal on racial stereotypes like Muslims’ abhorrence towards pork, “kiasu” Chinese and calling Indians “keling”.
Posted as a topic of discussion on the online platform, Redditor abeemination asked Malaysians what they’ve always wanted to ask other ethnic groups, but did not for the fear of appearing racist. A refreshingly candid yet amiable conversation ensued.
Redditors tackled controversial topics such as on Malay-Muslims who indulge in alcohol and premarital sex but do not consume pork, all of which are forbidden in Islam, the Chinese who refuse to learn to speak Bahasa Malaysia properly, and whether calling Indians “keling” is offensive.
The topic, which is among the most talked about in the site’s Malaysia section, has garnered more than 500 comments since it was posted two days ago and has 102 “upvotes”, Reddit’s version of a community-driven approval rating.
Despite the polarising subject matter, Redditors remained calm and humorous throughout, maintaining civil conversation that one remarked was “moderately surprising”.
Here are some of the most interesting subjects and comments brought up:
Anti-Semitism among Malays
Many Redditors agreed that anti-Jewish sentiment among Malays in Malaysia is prevalent and largely stems from religious circles who were influenced by religious sermons, news reports and books from the 1990s, as well as by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s strong stance during his over two decades’ long tenure as prime minister.
“The anti-Semitic ‘Yahudi is the cause of our problems’ view is mostly propagated in religious circles through sermons (khutbah) and the influence of elders,” said Redditor henna1996.
The lawyer by training said that such views were mostly prevalent in conservative Malay-Muslim circles, who were “brought up to hate Jews” through limited television news and the book The International Jew”by Henry Ford.
Redditor Wyrm_McFly, who felt the anti-Semitic sentiment during his Universiti Teknologi Mara days, said this gained traction in the 1990s during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with limited information sources.
“We rely on tv and newspaper for news. Because information was limited, people (Malays) actually viewed that Israel as Jews and vice versa,” he said, adding that the book The International Jew also capitalised on the anti-Israeli sentiment.
“Even though there are still many Malays that hate Jews (could also be caused by their confusion to understand the references to Jews in Quran), but I believe many people too have realised that not all Jewish people are evil,” he said.
Why are Chinese ‘kiasu’?
Chinese Malaysians defended their “kiasu” behaviour, citing the Federal Constitution and pro-Bumiputera economic policies that they said denied them an equal playing field.
Several Redditors believed that the privileges accorded to the Malays and Bumiputera under the Federal Constitution compelled the minorities to be more competitive and “kiasu”, so as not to risk falling behind.
“Kiasu” is a Hokkien term used to describe an ultra competitive attitude with the fear of losing out.
“We have to be. The Malays have their constitutionally guaranteed ‘rights’, universities, scholarships, and if we want to be on an equal footing, we have to be kiasu,” said Redditor BibliophileJC.
He said that while growing up, his parents had always told him to not to compare himself to his Malay classmates, as they did not have to perform as well in order to get into university or to get a scholarship.
“I think that it is perfectly alright to be kiasu, to always strive to be ahead, and I see it as a compliment. The alternative is to be complacent and behind,” he said.
Redditor barcap said that it was a matter of survival when one was in a situation of a “racial apartheid” and would be at a disadvantage.
“You have no choice but to be the best at everything. Evolve or die, I guess,” he said.
However, other Redditors said a “fight your way to the top” attitude was ingrained in Chinese culture, the most populous people in the world, in order to survive.
Malays also asked why Malaysian Chinese were so bad at speaking Bahasa Malaysia, and even seemed to deliberately refuse to learn or get better.
Redditor doesobamauseshampoo posted: “I stick to English due to its relative ease to learn and being the unofficial universal language. In short, efficiency”.
Women and booze okay, but not pork?
Puzzled by selective vices, one Redditor asked why some Muslims choose to consume alcohol and have premarital sex, but view pork as “unclean”, when in fact all three are declared “haram” (forbidden).
Redditor danixal said that individuals tend to have different reasons for their choices, with some claiming they would like to “at least keep a small part of religion at heart.”
Another Redditor, mocmocmoc81, said that Muslims are conditioned to perceive pork as unclean.
“The idea of ingesting disease/germ ridden food is enough to manifest into a quasi phobia,” he said, explaining that sex and alcohol, on the other hand, are considered sins because they are “pleasurable”.
Counter arguments arose that many other foods were “unclean” also, but not considered haram.
“If it’s a disease/germ ridden food, no one will be eating it. All animals are fed with the same stuff that is no different than you and I are eating, albeit in different form. Vegetable is fertilised with animal’s fecal matter literally, does it make it unclean too?,” asked Redditor monkeyslovebanana.
Redditors also discussed whether it was right for Muslims to expect non-Muslim friends not to eat pork in front of them, and whether non Muslims should inherently respect this.
“To be honest I don’t think too many malays are as open as I am now. A couple of years ago I started to get used to eating with my chinese friends at chinese kopitiams, and after a while just accepted that pork is just a type of meat that we choose not to eat (or touch).
“At the same time, these friends also try to make sure there’s at least one malay store selling halal food inside so that I don’t have to starve, haha!” said danixal.
Dating white guys
The perception that Caucasians are more “high class” was a point of contention among Redditors, who blamed it on media portrayal, personal preference and historical roots linked to colonialism and white supremacy.
Redditor cultofz asked whether Malay women preferred marrying white westerners, saying: “And once you are married to white ppl, your status goes up. I have a client that is married to French, and apparently French is higher class than let’s say British, and she basically tries to cut her Malay culture and look down on my other Malay colleagues.”
Another Redditor, strawbee, said that a Chinese friend wanted to “high five” her after she started dating an Australian guy, presumably because they had that in common.
To harith_rhmn, it boiled down to personal preference, and at the end of the day, everyone “wants to marry someone hot”.
“Let’s admit it, westerners are prettier/more handsome than your average Malay. Of course, it will be considered pretty impressive if you manage to snag a foreigner so people will be a bit kecoh about your relationship lah,” he said.
Billboards and advertisements featuring pan-Asian and western models were also blamed for influencing beauty stereotypes.
Racial stereotyping in the family
Some Redditors claimed that their parents were the ones who had instilled racial sentiments in them.
One Redditor’s parents said the most common stereotyping he hears are that Indians are “spin masters”, Chinese are mean spirited and only want to be friends if there is something in it for them, Malays are prone to jealousy and cannot see others doing better, but Caucasians are “great”.
Other Redditors said that their parents prefer to patronise businesses of their own race, claiming to want to help their own kind.
Redditor strawbee said her mother preferred to go to Chinese merchants because “the bumis already get help”, while Redditor filanamia said his or her mother opted for Malay businesses because “the Chinese are rich enough already”.
The most outrageous claim seemed to be that of Redditor XxZITRONxX, whose mother told him the Chinese “don’t wash their privates after going to the toilet”, which led to a spin-off regarding toilet etiquette for men.
