UK family's M'sian holiday tarnished by racist encounter at apartment

Summary

• An overseas influencer family claims they were ill-treated at a Malaysian apartment after security guards asked the Kenyan father unnecessary questions about their accommodation.

• Describing the incident as his “worst experience ever”, Ray Mwiti says he would rather not stay in Malaysia if the guards were an example of how the people here would act.

An influencer family from the United Kingdom has claimed that they suffered an “absolute nightmare” during their recent trip to Malaysia due to alleged racism and bias against dark-skinned people.

In a video uploaded on The Mwitis’ Instagram and YouTube channel late last night, Ray Mwiti - who is Kenyan - detailed how the security guards at an apartment building in Malaysia had acted disparagingly towards him when he attempted to check into the residence.

The visibly exhausted father of two said the guards had taken issue with whether he had paid for the accommodation, how much he had paid and if he was “sure” he was at the right location. 

“(The guards were) just questioning me as if I was an absolute child. I was so mad and so angry, (but) I was trying to keep my cool… I felt like crying,” Ray said in the just over two-minute-long clip. 

Noting that his wife and two young children were forced to wait while he sorted out the matter after the family had travelled about two hours from an airport, Ray said that he eventually managed to find the keys to his apartment unit.

Subsequently, he said the guards merely requested his passport and gave him a form for additional information. 

“To be honest, that was my worst experience ever… (the guards) didn’t even apologise. I was like, if this is Malaysia (then) just get me out of here… if this is how the people are going to be, I really don’t want to be here.

“I’m not going to say all of Malaysia has been bad (as) there have been some good people along the way, but I think the Philippines just spoiled me,” he added, referring to the family’s previous travel destination.

‘It can be difficult when you’re black’

Ray shared that he tries to find positivity everywhere as he was “disgusted” by how people are profiled because of the way they look and “judged without any sort of merit behind it”.

“If you’re black, you know how difficult it can be sometimes,” he added. 

In the family’s YouTube video uploaded on Feb 11, the family shared their travels from Manila to Kuala Lumpur. 

One clip in the four-minute video showed the mother, Amber Mwiti, who is British, sitting on the steps of the Malaysian apartment building alongside two sleeping children. Amber also said the guards were asking her husband “weird questions”.

The next video uploaded by the channel on Feb 27 was a 26-minute account of their day in Georgetown, Penang.

The exact location of the apartment residence specified in the videos is unclear. 

Malaysiakini has reached out to the family as well as Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing for additional insight and responses to the incident. 

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