Shocked at biased attitude
We are from Sabah and most of us, even though we are born Muslim, do not consider ourselves Malay, especially when we have Kadazandusun parents or grandparents whose forefathers were Chinese or some other race.
1Malaysia is nothing new to us as we have been living it here in Sabah since Malaysia was formed in 1963. My daughter has lived in Australia and the United States for the last five to six years. After she graduated and worked a year in Australia, she wanted to come home.
Being in the film industry, she would have more opportunities to work in Kuala Lumpur. She is now trying hard to adjust to life in the capital.
When I spoke to her on Aug 21, she told me she was meeting a real estate agent who would show her an apartment in Ampang.
Imagine how she felt when the real estate agent asked if she was Malay or Indian. When she asked why that was relevant, the real estate agent told her “because the owner doesn’t want to rent to Malays or Indians”.
As she doesn’t consider herself Malay, the real estate agent agreed to meet her.
Having only been in Kuala Lumpur for slightly more than a month, it wasn’t easy for her to find her way to where they were supposed to meet. This agent, who called himself Kenneth, became angry when she couldn’t find her way and made a racist remark.
When I called Kenneth, he was rude and hung up on me. When I called his company, I was told Kenneth had been fired earlier. But the man who answered was very rude too; he, too, hung up on me.
I am utterly shocked at the standard and the attitude of these real estate agents. How on earth is my daughter going to find a place with such people around?
F. ArifKota Kinabalu, Sabah
Make what you will of it. I’m just copying from the papers.
