A Malaysian man of Kadazan descent recently had the shock of his life when he was told that the unit he was looking to rent only allowed for “local Malaysian” tenants.
Taking to his Threads account, Kinney Clarence Jr. shared how he applied for a room to rent in Peninsular Malaysia, only to be told by the agent that the room he was interested in was only allocated to “local Malaysians”, after he had stated his race as Kadazan.
He wrote, “So, I was room hunting and this happened. Sister, you better go back to school and re-learn SEJARAH (history).”
Kinney responded to the agent’s message by informing her that Kadazan people are from Sabah, and he later clarified in the comment section of his post that the agent didn’t reply to his messages after that.
We’re Malaysians too!
Many Sabahan and Sarawakian people have since shared their own tales of how those from Peninsular Malaysia forget that they, too, are Malaysians.
“I’m Sarawakian. Before this, I wanted to open a bank account in Selangor, but the staff had to consult their manager first. They even asked me for my passport and asked their manager if non-Malaysians can open a bank account. I was speechless.”
“Last time when I was at University, it was my first day, I was innocent and didn’t know anything, so I went around trying to make friends with (Peninsular Malaysians). They even said, ‘Welcome to Malaysia‘. Even University students don’t know that Sabah is in Malaysia.”
What do you think of this whole situation? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
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