Disclaimer: In Real Life is a platform for everyday people to share their experiences and voices. All articles are personal stories and do not necessarily echo In Real Life’s sentiments.
At this point, we’ve all probably seen the video of the white woman trying to enter Dior KLCC without a mask. It’s pretty incredible since for most of us, the idea of walking around maskless is still unthinkable despite our high vaccination rates.
Although she was fined the maximum amount of RM3,000, many Malaysians feel that this would be mere pocket change for her. What rubbed locals wrong was the huge entitlement she displayed in expecting to be accommodated despite pandemic restrictions, and her blatant disregard for the safety of others. Some had discovered that she also had connections to our country’s VVIPs.
White privilege is apparent in Malaysia
It isn’t just limited to better treatment and job opportunities – you can also see it happening in the way some think of white people. Here are some typical instances most of us have probably faced:
- Some locals prefer dating white people, saying that they’re just more attractive (shout out to sarong party girls who love chasing after white men saying that “I’m not racist, I just have preferences”).
- White people in Malaysia given tonnes of media coverage for speaking bahasa (or any other Asian language) when we have migrant workers who pick up bahasa fluently in a few months.
- White people being hired at astronomical wages, even if locals are better qualified
- Waiters tend to give them faster service, even if you’ve been sitting there earlier (friends in the service industry justify this by saying that white people are more likely to raise a big fuss over service)
- Having more connections higher up because they hang out with Malaysians who belong in their (extremely high) socioeconomic class
- White begpackers who ask locals to help fund their travels – some even do things that disrupt the daily lives of locals such as by playing music in public places
- Living in the region to take advantage of our comparatively lower cost of living while earning in their home currency – many do illegal visa runs to Thailand or other neighbouring countries to maintain their lifestyle here (a lifestyle that they recognise that wouldn’t be possible in their home country)
These incidents all prove that white privilege does exist, especially here.
Why should you care about white privilege?
Because it affects you even in ways you don’t think about.
Although it’s certainly obvious in Western media that white people are overrepresented, the issue still occurs here too – local brands still use white models in their ads despite proudly boasting about their homegrown status.
We can also see this trend in our prominent local celebrities: many are mat salleh celup. There are local YouTube channels that make use of white people as props too.
An example of white privilege in action locally is Mat Dan, an Englishman who has successfully assimilated into Malaysia through his fluency in the Terengganu dialect. Originally stopping here during his travels after his A-levels, he has risen to become a local celebrity purely because of the novelty of a white person speaking a local dialect. He even received his PR from a Deputy Prime Minister.
In contrast, he wouldn’t have achieved such recognition if he had stayed in England.
White privilege also manifests itself in the way many expats are white, with the accompanying benefits of a huge salary, allowances that can include accommodation and payment of international school fees for their kids, and the way they antagonise local service workers for treatment beyond their job scope.
You just don’t see these things happening with locals or our migrant workers.
The truth many people don’t realise is that some white people are just the losers of their own country
That’s why most tend to stop in SEA because they understand that they can take advantage of our low cost of living and locals’ unfortunate idolisation of white people.
Many of them are digital nomads who live carefree lives in places like Bali, or elderly retired men who are looking for an Asian wife who can actually tolerate them.
White people demand better treatment on the basis that they deserve it – but why do they think this?
A friend who works in retail had a similar experience to what happened with Dior. This friend, Rina, works in an atas mall in KL.
The white woman had been angered at the outlet’s choice to close its fitting rooms (a nation-wide response to the MCO of the time). She said that the other stores in the mall had fitting room facilities, so why was this store different?
Rina’s manager tried to handle the situation, citing concerns related to the pandemic and keeping both customers and workers safe from unnecessary risks.
However, this woman refused to listen to reason. She demanded that they open their fitting rooms for her at least.
Rina’s manager stood her ground and the woman left fuming.
The next day when Rina went into work, she found out that her store was forced to open their fitting rooms. Apparently the woman had escalated this complaint through a contact she had who worked in the management of the mall.
Her contact, a local man, made a huge fuss for her. He emailed every single department about what had happened, blowing things out of proportion.
Despite Rina’s manager’s attempts to explain that all of the other outlets of the same brand had closed their fitting rooms across Malaysia, nobody listened. She tried to get back up, but in the end all of them had to bow to the white woman’s will.
Rina also noticed that there were many white families who were walking around the mall without wearing their masks. Keep in mind that this happened before vaccines were available for the public.
Other friends noticed the same behaviours. One said to me, “I don’t blame the security guards for not stopping them. I mean, our guards are mostly foreigners. They know that these white people are higher above them, and can cause more trouble than they’re worth.”
White people in Malaysia tend to act like we’re subservient to them, and that we’re here to take care of their needs.
But we’re not. We’re people of our own, with our own culture and traditions. We have our own practices and our own issues to face.
We certainly don’t need the descendants of the people who forced our region into indentured servitude to behave like we’re still their subjects.
For more stories like this, read: Expats in Malaysia Benefit From White Privilege at the Expense of Locals — Here’s How.
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