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PETALING JAYA: A sociologist has criticised Malaysians who harbour a prejudice against black Africans, saying they have failed to grasp the concept of a unified human identity.
This follows a report in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), which alleged that blacks faced racial discrimination on a daily basis throughout Asia.
The report featured an interview with filmmaker Faisal Ibrahim, a Nigerian expatriate in Malaysia. He alleged that he had experienced harassment by police because of the colour of his skin.
Speaking to FMT, Denison Jayasooria, a research fellow at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said such instances were understood in sociology as a “dislike for the Other”.
“The dislike for someone who is different stems from a weak understanding of humanity and of the fact that we are all people,” he said.
According to the SCMP report, European colonialism had caused Asians to consider dark skin not only as indicative of a low socio-economic class, but also as being unattractive.
Jayasooria agreed, saying that colonialism had encouraged the idea that light-skinned people were superior to the dark-skinned.
“But a lot of blame also falls on ignorance and lack of exposure,” he added.
He said the problem could be addressed by awareness campaigns and the institution of measures to encourage complaints against racial discrimination and to punish offenders.
He recommended the setting up of a “good complaints mechanism” and the enactment of tough anti-discrimination laws.
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