Systemic discrimination plagues Malaysian Indians, says activist

SHAH ALAM - Discrimination against Indians in Malaysia remains a pervasive and alarming issue, affecting their opportunities in both the property and job markets, according to a social activist and lawyer adding that

Social activist and lawyer Arun Dorasamy has brought to light the stark reality of discrimination faced by the community in the country, revealing compelling statistics and insights that highlight the systemic challenges hindering the community's socio-economic progress.

"Indians are the biggest victims of discrimination whether it is in the property market or the job market," he said, highlighting the pervasive issues faced by the Indian community in Malaysia.

He said Indians were reported to have experienced higher levels of discrimination when applying for a job at 51 per cent, when looking for houses at 35 per cent, and when dealing with the police at 21 per cent due to police profiling.

Arun referenced a 2019 YouGov Omnibus research, which found that 46 per cent of Indians interviewed had faced discrimination when renting properties, a figure surpassing the proportion of Malays and Chinese facing similar problems.

"It's still worse in Malaysia; at least 62 per cent of house rental advertisements put racial requirements in their listings.

"Even more concerning, about 32 percent of landlords think racial requirements are a rightful request and make good business sense," he said.

The job market, Arun said, was another area where Indians face significant challenges.

He said Indians faced higher resistance in the job market with the most affected being Indian males.

He also cited a 2019 study by the Centre of Governance and Political Studies, where the callback rate for Indian male candidates was only 3.66 per cent, while for Indian females was 8.96 per cent.

In comparison, Chinese females received 43.88 per cent callbacks, Chinese males 32.73 per cent, Malay males 7.86 per cent and Malay females 9.14 per cent.

"In all counts, research shows that Indians are the biggest victims of discrimination, whether in the property market or the job market," he said.

Malaysian rapper Kidd Santhe had multiple times voiced out discrimination issues faced by the Indian community in his songs over the past few years. Unsurpisingly, the provocative nature of his song has sparked controversy, garnering both support and backlash reflecting the realities stated by Arun.

Arun also pointed out that Indians had a five times higher chance of being pulled over by the police and that the country lacked anti-discriminatory legislation.

"It's sad that Malaysia does not have laws that prohibit landlords or any agencies from discriminating. Even though our constitution's article reads equality, stating all persons are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection, in practice, this is not happening," he said.

Arun also said that the absence of legal and policy frameworks to combat discrimination is pushing the Indian community into further poverty and despair.

"This will push them into activities that are not pleasant to make a living, and urban poverty will take a different shape in the coming years," he said.

Not only that, he also criticised the use of Mandarin language requirements as a smokescreen to favor Chinese candidates in job postings.

"It's a matter of fact that some Chinese without intermediate Mandarin skills get higher chances than non-Chinese with a strong command of the language," he said, pointing out that this issue is prevalent in both the public and private sectors.

Arun also highlighted the lack of representation of Indians in government services where representation of Indian civil servants was less than four per cent, noting that it was half of the population percentage of Indians in this country.

"The government has been very quiet on this part. While the government sector pushes the Malay gender and the private sector pushes the Chinese gender, the Indian community is stuck in between, suffering from systemic discrimination and racial profiling," he said.