Who is not a racist after all?

The recent debate over the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) has cast the spotlight on the much bigger issue of racism than whether the BTN needs a revamp.

It was amusing to see senior politicians accusing each other of being racist. The words 'racist' and 'racism' that were shunned all these years have now become public focus.

It is an indication of the people's maturity in being willing to openly debate issues that were previously banned because of their perceived sensitivity.

The Cambridge dictionary defines racism as "the belief that people's qualities are influenced by their race and that the members of other races are not as good as the members of your own, or the resulting unfair treatment of members of other races".

A racist is therefore someone who believes that other races are not as good as his own and therefore treats them unfairly.

Going by the definition we are all racists to a certain degree as we harbour that inherent racist trait to a certain extent.

Institutional racism is where treating people unfairly because of their race has become part of the normal behaviour of people within an organisation, party or country.

Slavery and the apartheid policy of the past were clear examples of institutionalised racism.

Racism is condemned by all major religions of the world and abhorred by man. It plagued mankind throughout the ages and unfortunately continues to do so till today.

Malaysia is no different from others and we have our share of racism which rears its ugly head from time to time. The ongoing debate on racism is an indication that finally we may be getting out of our state of denial and beginning to accept racism does indeed exist in the minds of our people to some extent.

This awareness may be the beginning of our people's concerted war against this evil that is threatening the peace, harmony and progress of the nation.

This could be attributed to the political system that tends to segregate the races in every area of human activity. This has created a generation of Malaysians who are highly conscious of their ethnic origin.

They prefer to regard themselves more as Malays, Chinese and Indians than Malaysians, interacting with those of their own race.

They may appear to be living happily together side by side but the differences are dividing them more than the commonness that unites them.

Our education system too tends to segregate the races from a very young age, as early as kindergarten level. At an age when children of all races should be mingling freely to interact with one another, they are separated for whatever reasons, into their own communal groups and forced to compete for straight A's in their examinations.

When children grow up in ethnic isolation there is no chance for them to understand the cultures and traditions of fellow Malaysians from other races. How can they be expected to respect each other's differences?

It is unfortunate that we have today a new generation of Malaysians who are so racially charged so much so they become very sensitive and intolerant to even the most trivial comments and criticisms from members of other races.

Under these circumstances forging racial goodwill and integration is a difficult task but if we do not start now in our own surroundings how can we expect our politicians to do so at the national levels where it is far more complex and challenging?

The newly-minted 1Malaysia concept has created the awareness among the people for the need for greater racial integration. We must develop a new mindset that transcends race and religion in dealing with one another.