Malaysia’s national postal service has suspended an employee, while they investigate a racial slur that he used when registering an online package to a recipient last month.
While the incident occurred in Johor’s Skudai post office, the order to suspend the man is reported to have come from Pos Malaysia headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
The term used, which is circled below from the shared social media post, is a derogatory term used for Malaysians of Indian origin.
Indian Malaysians make up 7% of the population, and while many are highly educated, with many in top government and multi-national positions (Attorney General Tommy Thomas, Air Asia Group CEO Tony Fernandes are just a few that come to mind), many face every day racism from their fellow countrymen.
The employee responsible for the controversy is a 24-year-old male, and he is said to have admitted to using the offensive term. The suspect’s identity card has also been circulated widely across social media.
After a screencap clearly illustrating the slur, and an accompanying ten-minute long tirade at the post office responsible, was widely being shared on social media and WhatsApp chat groups to much outrage, Pos Malaysia has finally taken action.
The video can be found here.
Speaking to the Malay Mail, an anonymous source indicated that local post office management had hoped that the incident could have been dealt with quietly, and “settle the issue in an amicable manner.” Discontent with only a nominal sorry, the offended party went to the area’s general post office to lodge a formal complaint.
The victim had reportedly visited several post offices in her area over the last few days demanding to know who was responsible for the racist language.
The source adds that headquarters is well-aware of the gravity of the matter, the seriousness of the allegation, and have indicated that the staff member may be sacked.
