YOURSAY | 'Bottom-up changes are difficult for lack of enforcement…'

'Chinese/Malay only': Study of rental listings shows racism in property market

Harimau_arif: This article is only pointing out the symptoms of a deeply-rooted disease we have in this country - racial discrimination against minorities.

Property rental is one, but this type of practice is seen in many other areas as well, such as education, law enforcement, politics, government jobs, business, etc. I can go on and on.

The fundamental problem here is with our government that has been practising and implementing racially-based policies since independence, which led to all the symptoms we are seeing today.

I am a property owner and I am all for equal opportunity. I don’t believe a landlord should reject a potential tenant based on race and religion. There is no proof that being a Chinese or Malay would automatically make a better tenant.

There should be a basis for certain decisions, such as a person’s creditworthiness. That would be relevant in the landlord’s decision, not race or religion. As we all know, bottom-up changes are especially hard because there is no policy, and if there is, enforcement.

Frankly, I don’t see any hope as there is no political will to right the wrong. Our politicians are more interested in lining their own pockets through divisive politics.

OceanMaster: I agree, but there is a significant difference between renting a room versus renting a whole apartment unit. Renting just a room requires sharing common spaces within the apartment or house, and people can have reservations over this.

Some people can only afford to rent a room. So, let's stick to the problem stated here - Indians are being discriminated against when trying to rent a room in the city.

Among the comments here, obviously the personal experience of commentators with a certain race is glaring.

But to all of you who defend discriminating a certain race as your tenant, you should also remember that what you consider as nuances contribute to the overall discrimination of this particular race.

This race that is being singled out here suffers in every nook and corner of their lives because of such micro-stereotyping. Whether it is applying for a job, a loan from financial institutions, etc.

It is no different from the suffering of blacks in the United States. What you have really done is slowly built an economic and social glass ceiling over them.

In Malaysia, it is even worse. The government itself provides Malaysians with the moral waiver. It is a generational vicious cycle that Indians have to suffer.

The worst outcome of this is that you also end up discriminating those Indians who managed to come out of this cycle and try to succeed just like the rest of Malaysians.

GajahDuduk: Imagine being an Indian, a non-drinker with a good job, fluent in Mandarin and Malay and every damn time you get denied tenancy while your colleagues have no issues. That's frustrating as hell.

AT-SIXX: You may call this racism but you can see this as property owner prerogative. It is a commercially-driven activity.

This is a small thing as compared to what race-based political parties are championing.

Ruslan Bahari: The comments on this article itself show a racist side among some of us.

I have learned to accept that there are racists among the Chinese, Indians and my own race. It's the way the world is. Try living in Australia in the 1980s as an Asian and you will know that this exists elsewhere.

But, as I stated here, choosing a preferred race for a tenant is not racism. An owner has every right to choose.

If he chooses to reduce his pool of possibilities (due to his own beliefs or generalisations on the ability to pay, hygiene practices, diet, or even discipline), it is his choice. I won't look at him lesser than the next guy.

Analyze THIS: @Ruslan Bahari, but where there are specific laws there (Australia) against property discrimination based on race, the landlord has to be careful when he/she turns down a minority race.

If you're a landlord who has a long track record of excluding a certain race, guess what: you'll find yourself on the receiving end of a class-action lawsuit. Not so in Malaysia yet.

MarioT: Take a look at the local scenario. We all feel more comfortable mixing with our own race than with another race. Look around you, at schools, places of higher learning and workplaces.

Though friendly atmosphere may be seen, reservations do exist. Given this situation, no surprises if house owners prefer their own kind.

Government policies and actions contribute to a certain extent for this scenario to occur. Culture, religion and ethnic behaviours do play a part as well. It is not racist inclinations but more of our feelings of insecurity.

Docsarna: Malaysia was one of the countries to congratulate Nelson Mandela when apartheid rule was abolished in South Africa.

I wonder if there will ever be a time when some other country will congratulate us for ending institutionalised racism, which conveniently found its way into the law.

In this country, racism starts at the very beginning, literally from one’s birth. Our birth certificate is a symbol of racism.

Then, in every form in this country, there is this column. Some wise person some time back wrote “Malaysian” on the bangsa column and it was rejected outright. There is no such thing as Bangsa Malaysia as the law doesn’t accept that.

Then you have teachers who will show outright racism in primary and secondary schools. After that, comes more racism - getting into college or university. And then you experience it at work.

With racism instilled at every stage of life and nurtured by the greedy and self-centred politicians, the cycle continues.

What business intelligence analyst Pingalayen Rabinthra Kumar has revealed is nothing new and nothing surprising either. Many more studies have shown the same outcome, but the people who can make the change are just blind, deaf and mute.

Headhunter: Like it or not, racism in Malaysia is deep-rooted and it's impossible to get rid of. Our politicians made sure of it because they need it to serve their own agenda.

We used to present a facade to outsiders that we are multicultural. Now we don't even pretend anymore.

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