AS has been pointed out before, Malaysians tend to view everything through race-tinted specs. The latest disconcerting incident that has gone viral involves an ice-cream seller in Pantai Remis, Kuala Selangor.
In a brief clip uploaded on TikTok, netizen @preeyangka23 had alleged an ice-cream seller at Pantai Remis, Kuala Selangor had refused to sell to her young nieces and nephews because they are Indians!
The vendor who had apparently been attacked previously by intoxicated Indians had pointed to a police report stuck on his motorcycle as justification for his ‘sales policy’.
The incident obviously garnered a lot of attention online. This is what some netizens had to say.
The episode has caught the attention of mainstream media and in a further twist to the tale, it has since been revealed that the ice-cream vendor is of Indian origin himself!
Apparently, the MIC had approached the ice-cream seller who has since apologised for his behaviour and invited the family to purchase from him anytime.
But not all netizens were in a forgiving mood. These were some of the comments accompanying his ‘apology’ video on YouTube.
The question that needs to be raised here is whether racism is acceptable or indeed less painful when it is being dished out by people of the same ethnicity.
This can be seen in another social media post highlighted in FocusM where a Malay netizen berated the high failure rate of start-ups among his brethren.
Apparently not according to netizens.
The episode also did highlight that not all Malaysians displayed such prejudices and others are happy to be part of 1Malaysia as exemplified by a Malay family who upon witnessing the unfortunate episode stepped in to purchase ice-cream for the poster’s younger kin.
It would appear that no matter what race the perpetrator may be, most Malaysians find such discrimination unacceptable. As one netizen pointedly remarked, Malaysian society seems to have regressed.
What do our readers think about this issue? Please share your thoughts on the FocusM Facebook page. – Feb 14, 2024
