KUALA LUMPUR – Social and mass media, and politicians are named as the three main sources of racism in the country, a think-tank has found.
In a survey by The Centre, 553 respondents cited social media as the top source of hate speech, followed by mass media (385) and politicians (365).
Other respondents cited friends, neighbours, the workplace, family, school, and even houses of worship.
The Centre said 87% of 200 respondents, comprising Malays, Chinese and Indians, believe hate speech is at a serious level, while only 14% think otherwise.
The study revealed that certain types of speech are deemed highly offensive and threatening across all ethnicities, including insults to the Quran and God, and those hurled at the Indian community over the December 2018 death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, who succumbed to injuries sustained in a riot at a Hindu temple in Subang Jaya.
The study concluded that the most offensive elements in hate speech are content and context.
Speech with content that is disrespectful of religion, threatens violence or sows hatred of a specific group usually involves some form of historical context, meaning such statements have the potential to trigger general unrest and a backlash against minorities.
Factors that determine the seriousness of a particular hate speech include the frequency of the statement in question – in other words, how often it has been said.
The factor of “who made the speech”, and the intention behind the said speech, are cited as contributors to the racial divide.
For instance, if the intent of a politician making the speech is political and aimed mainly at fishing for votes, such speeches would be perceived as less threatening.
The Centre, which researches issues related to the public and social harmony, was founded by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan. – The Vibes, December 9, 2020
