KOMAS Monitors - August 2024 Newsletter

September 17, 2024

Pusat KOMAS | Advocates Equality | Fights Racism and Racial Discrimination

Pusat KOMAS is a human rights organisation set up in August 1993. Its core mission is to advocate against racism and racial discrimination in Malaysia.

The second edition of KOMAS Monitors dissects issues and current topics related to racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia for the month of August.

Here are some issues highlighted in August:

Paris Olympics 2024 - racist comments hurled against Shinji Nakano after clash

Picture credit: Sinar Daily

The Paris Olympics 2024 was supposed to be a spectacle of sportsmanship; however, Malaysians channelled their anger towards Japanese cyclist Shinji Nakano after crashing with Malaysian cyclist Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom during the men’s keirin final. The netizens left comments attacking Shinji’s Japanese nationality and also blamed him for causing the clash between him and Shah Firdaus. This has caused Shinji Nakano to limit comments on his social media platforms, and also releasing a TikTok video apologising to the netizens, urging them not to target his family as he was the only one solely to blame for the crash.

We should never create hate in sports, as such accidents like the ones between Shah Firdaus and Shinji Nakano are just purely that - an accident. We call for Malaysians to rise above the negativity and be more mature when engaging in discourse related to sports.

Perak Islamic authorities issue apology for temple visit

Picture credit: Makkal Osai TV

The Perak Islamic department (JAIPk) issued an apology for their visit to a temple in Kuala Lumpur. The video of the visit was recorded by Makkal Osai TV, and it featured a female participant making comparisons between Islam and Hinduism. However, comments under the video sparked controversy for comments that uphold Islam as the supreme religion. This has caused JAIPk to reiterate that the female participant was merely expressing her personal views and does not represent JAIPk in general.

Pusat KOMAS firstly lauds the move made by JAIPk to foster better interfaith understanding by organising a visit to the Hindu temple. We find it unfortunate that certain sectors of Malaysian society feel the need to politicise and harp on religious sentiments, thus convoluting the essence of noble efforts such as this. Malaysia is unique in its diversity, therefore we call for every Malaysian to learn and understand each other’s cultural and religious norms. Pusat KOMAS hopes there will be more interfaith conversations between all religions and not shy away from these efforts.

New Suhakam chief targets ICERD and refugee convention ratification

Picture credit: MyCC

New Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) chief Hishamudin Yunus hopes that the ICERD will be ratified within his three year tenure helming the commission. However, this was opposed strongly by some NGOs like Isma, who said ICERD is a failed formula that is to be imported into our country and it will threaten the position of the royal institution, the special privileges of the bumiputera.

Pusat KOMAS have always advocated for the ratification of ICERD - it is one of the ways to address pressing systemic racism and racial discrimination in this country. We have argued that the ratification of ICERD is compatible with the Federal Constitution. We call for Malaysians to be more informed citizens of the ICERD convention and all other international conventions.

Malaysian actress deletes comments after using the derogatory word “jakun”

Picture credit: Facebook

Malaysian actress Izara Aishah was panned by netizens for using the word “jakun” to denote an unintelligent or ignorant person. She defended her choice of word, saying that it is in line with the official definition of the Dewan Pustaka dan Bahasa’s Malay dictionary. However, she was still panned by netizens as Jakun is a legitimate Orang Asli ethnicity in Malaysia. She finally deleted her comments.

Jakun and Sakai are terminologies that should never be used to define people who are unintelligent or ignorant because Jakun and Sakai are actual ethnicities of Orang Asli living in Peninsular Malaysia. We should not be resorting to calling out slurs against people. We should learn the history of those slurs today and learn about how harmful they are to the communities they are based on.

Terengganu temple disallowed from having female singers

Picture credit: Free Malaysia Today

A Chinese temple in Terengganu recently took over news headlines after it claimed that they were not allowed to have female singers performing in the temple, despite it being a non-Muslim event. This was followed up with the Terengganu exco Wan Sukairi Wan Abdullah confirming the directive, saying that the ban of female singers applied to the Chinese temple as the performance was to be taken place in an open space. This resulted in the temple to proceed with its performance, but also cordoned off the area asking Muslims to stay away from the premises. A Terengganu state exco then urged critics towards this move to respect the rights of the majority.

The Terengganu government’s directive should have been more cognisant of the Chinese temple’s need to feature female singers during the Hungry Ghost festival. There should be an intercultural dialogue to foster better understanding between the races and different religions. Moreover, Pusat KOMAS also believes that the rights and beliefs of the minorities should be as equally respected, as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

Pusat KOMAS activities of the month -

Pusat KOMAS embarks on empowerment by organising Bangsa Malaysia workshops with the grassroots communities. The workshops focus on providing a safe space to discuss racism and racial discrimination in this country. We also pursue state and federal government advocacy using various powerful tools and meeting with relevant stakeholders to push for policy changes at the state and federal levels of government. The impact is that we empower communities - from top to bottom - to be more aware of their rights and privileges and become informed citizens towards racial issues.

Pusat KOMAS workshop in Malim Nawar, Perak

Pusat KOMAS conducted two Bangsa Malaysia workshops under the DUN constituency of Malim Nawar, Perak. The workshops were conducted in collaboration with Malim Nawar ADUN, YB V. Bavani Shasha. The first workshop was with the JPKK and local councillors under DUN Malim Nawar, held at the Rakan Muda Complex in Kampar on the morning of August 11, Sunday, and the second workshop was held with the collaboration of Tanjung Tualang Rukun Tetangga association in the afternoon. Both workshops featured interactive sessions whereby participants would learn about racism and racial discrimination in Malaysia, and learn about relevant legislation that encompasses inclusivity over division.

Check out our compilation of workshops through this TikTok video HERE

Pusat KOMAS pays visits to YB Nizar Jamaluddin and Tambun Parliamentary office

Pusat KOMAS paid a visit to see YB Dato Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin after our two workshops in Malim Nawar, Perak. During the meeting, we exchanged views about racism, racial discrimination and racial politics in this country, as well as getting Nizar’s insights on how to progress forward to bring about a better humanity.

We also met with Amir Sabri, Tambun Parliamentary political secretary at the Tambun parliament service centre. We had a very productive meeting with them and we hope to have a lot more chances to work with stakeholders in Perak.

Pusat KOMAS Independence Day to Malaysia Day TikTok campaign

Pusat KOMAS embarked on a TikTok video campaign, releasing one video each from Independence Day on August 31 till Malaysia Day on September 16. The videos feature several Malaysians talking about what unity in diversity means to them, what does respect mean, and what does it mean to be a Malaysian in this country. Click HERE to go through our video series and follow us on TikTok!

Have you experienced or witnessed an incident of racism or racial discrimination? Here’s what you can do:-