Malaysia Race Relation Essay

In my opinion, the state of race relations in Malaysia has been good despite the many political agenda that has been thrown onto us. Yes, there are many instances that we feel like our rights have been denied because of our racial background and certain races are given more preference. I have heard of the 1Malaysia concept, but I think we don’t need to be told to be united. We have come such a long way that it should already be embedded in our hearts and minds that we are united. Unfortunately, you can still see racial discrimination and polarisation. There is still this ethno-centric view that the Malays are the dominant group and their rights must be protected, and non Malays are forever the outsiders. For the concept to succeed, I think the government should stop with the race politics. It’s tiring, really. We grew up with application forms asking us to tick our race. We should stop painting a negative image of the other races, stop thinking about ‘us’ and ‘them’ and focus on ‘we’, ‘our’ and ‘Malaysians’. No one should be made uncomfortable in their own home. A dear Chinese friend of mine said to me once, â€Å"I don’t feel patriotic because I am not made to feel like Malaysia is my home, and I don’t feel an affinity to China because I have never lived there. † But even with all this said, I think we have such a high tolerance for our fellow friends of different races. Even though there is ongoing racial tension, we do not take it out on the other races. We do rally for the well being of our own race without offending the others. A great example of our unity would be definitely seen during the festive seasons. Every single open house you go to regardless the festival, Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali or Christmas, it would be mix of every other race coming together. The food prepared are taken into consideration of the other races taboo. In conclusion, I think Malaysians are truly tolerant towards each other. In my generation, I personally think race is no longer a social issue and everyone gets along with every other person regardless the race.