Dear Diary,
Last night, Miss Malaysia Universe 2017 Samantha Katie James “apologised” for the remarks posted on her Instagram stories.
She posted: “To clear the air, yes, I did poorly articulate myself writing ‘black people chose to be black’ and ‘to the black people, relax, take it as a challenge, it makes you stronger’. If I had been more attentive in how I wrote it, the message would off been understood as a heartfelt message to all victims of racism be it any colour (sic).
She received plenty of criticism earlier for saying African Americans protesting the death of George Floyd’s whose life ended under police restrain should “relax” and “take it as a challenge”.
She also claimed, “they chose to be born as a ‘coloured’ person in America for a reason”.
Despite the “apology”, her critics are not keeping quiet but some have come to her defence as they feel she is being cyberbullied.
While I don’t agree with her, there are polite ways of stating your views and we should not resort to threats.
Anyway, for live updates on what’s happening in the United States, click here.
Meanwhile, many Malaysians took to ‘blacking out’ their profile picture on social media for ‘Blackout Tuesday’.
While it is great that more Malaysians are taking a stance, I wish more of them open their eyes to what is happening in their own country.
How often have we heard ‘we don’t want Negros’ – or use the derogatory ‘Pak Hitam’ when describing them – living in their neighbourhood?
What about how badly we treat the migrant workers or vile things many say about the Rohingya refugees?
And then there is the whole, ‘only Chinese tenants’ or ‘only Mandarin speakers’ advertisements or as some pointed out, ‘eh Indians, avoid eye contact’ or ‘lock your door’ stereotyping.
Many are also guilty of saying Malays are lazy and that Malaysia belongs to the Malays (I wonder what the Orang Asli feel about that?)
And, while not racist, what about the way we treat the poor and the underprivileged or give special treatment to VIPs, elected or otherwise.
Don’t jump on the bandwagon or act cool or woke. By all means, speak out against racism or double standards but don’t be selective.
Here’s how Day 78 of the Movement Control Order (MCO) unfolded.
7.33am: SAD NUMBERS – Brazil surpasses 30,000 deaths from Covid-19 as the disease continues to rip through South America’s worst-hit country. Only the US (108,059), United Kingdom (39,369) and Italy (33,530) have more deaths.
8.15am: DATA IS IMPORTANT – Are we doing enough for the local sports industry?
9.01am: GOOD MESSAGE
10.38am: LAWSUIT – Tiger King star loses animal park to a nemesis he tried to kill.
11.38am: NO COMPROMISE – Formula One bosses have threatened to throw out anyone who breaks medical protocols as they unveiled Silverstone among the first eight rounds of their revamped world championship schedule.
12.28pm: SHORTLIVED FREEDOM? – National Union of Workers in Hospital Support and Allied Services (NUWHSAS) executive secretary M. Saraswathy and four others who were arrested yesterday for protesting against employer Edgenta UEMS outside the Ipoh Hospital, were handcuffed and brought to the magistrate’s court. They were ordered released by 6pm but they still risk being charged.
1.44pm: ABOUT TIME – Education Minister Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin says guidelines on reopening schools will be out tomorrow to allow schools and teachers to make appropriate preparations. Teachers, however, have not been told to report for duty.
2pm: UNDECIDED – Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob says the government has yet to decide to lift or extend the Conditional MCO which ends on June 9.
He also says Malaysians should use the Quick Response (QR) codes for contact tracing but are not legally compelled to do so.
Separately, production companies must appoint a safety supervisor among their crew and actors but they don’t have to undergo swab tests, although it is welcome.
3.32pm: WHAT THE PARK? – Parking woes in Taman Tun Dr Ismail continue as I move my car from the market (it’s RM5 for a maximum of three hours and 59 minutes but jumps to RM40 the moment it hits four hours). I find parking outside the office but the parking meter eats my coins and can’t read my Touch ‘N Go card. I rush back to the office to use Boost (I accidentally left the phone on the desk) but have trouble connecting. Thankfully, Twentytwo13’s creative editor Amar Qastellani Tajuddin uses his account to pay for the parking.
4pm: FACE FOR RADIO PART V – Another appearance on the RSS with HD extended.
5.03pm: OH NO! – There are 93 new cases today, but only two are Malaysian nationals. That brings the total to 7,970. Another 61 patients are discharged, meaning 6,531 people have been cured. Fatalities remain at 115.
6pm: BLACK RAGE – Lauryn Hill makes it clear racial oppression is not one of her favourite things in this twist on the Sound of Music tune My Favourite Things.
