MAY 15 — I laughed when white race supremacists claimed they were being oppressed and claimed there was a secret plan for white genocide.
Then I heard Isma saying the same but about themselves.
Meanwhile Uighurs in China are being put in concentration camps and the Rohingyas are fleeing from Myanmar while Aung San Suu Kyi looks the other way.
Maybe it's our colonial roots. Or maybe some people need mirrors.
A local newspaper ran a story about the troubling displays of racism at our local sporting events. Malaysians apparently have no problem with hiring foreign players for local football teams -- if they're white.
Black people get such short shrift here. They're banned from renting, always targeted by law enforcement or the subject of crude local humour.
The only black people Malaysians are nice to or give any respect are famous, rich black ones. You're not Barack Obama or Beyonce? Expect derogatory remarks about your skin colour or if you're male, the size of your genitals.
Don't get me started on locals who use the n-word and think they're entitled to it. Just because you listen to gangster rap or hip-hop doesn't mean you're suddenly part of the 'hood, son.
This disease, this misplaced and misguided sense of superiority over other races is prevalent in Malaysia. If it's not directed towards other Malaysians, it's directed at our neighbours.
Let's not pretend we don't all know someone who's made slurs directed at Bangladeshis, mainland Chinese, Thais, Burmese or Indonesians.
I'm not sure when we started acting as though we're somehow better than other countries but really, I think it's time we stop.
The Thais have a thriving economy, the Bangladeshis have a rich cultural history, China is a dominant economic and political force and Indonesia despite its many challenges could overtake us within a couple of decades.
How exactly are we better?
While other countries are getting a handle on their economies here we have the same old people talking about the same old things.
I'm really tired of our local news being 80 per cent "what idiots said today."
Really what I'm trying to say is Malaysians need to get over themselves and maybe embrace a new reality even if our older politicans won't -- a future where we try to make an honest buck, instead of a crooked one.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
