Unpack this: Malaysian woman gets racially profiled by travel agency

Photo credit: Jess Rajan Instagram
Photo credit: Jess Rajan Instagram

A local Indian woman was left “angered, frustrated, angered, misunderstood” after being racially profiled when inquiring about a tour package with a travel agency.

Jess Rajan recounted the incident on her social media account, saying she initially contacted GMC Travel regarding a tour package for a potential family trip.

After a brief greeting, she sent them three questions about her concerns, but was surprised by the responses she received from the travel agent who assisted her. 

After informing Rajan that her family would need to bring appropriate clothing to their intended destination due to temperatures dropping below 10 degrees Celsius, the travel agent proceeded to ask what race both she and her family belonged to.

“Why do you need to enquire about race?” Rajan asked back. 

The travel agent then went on to explain that, in his experience, Indian clients have a propensity to “ask a lot of things” before eventually ceasing to ask. 

He asserts that Chinese customers, in contrast, only ever ask two questions, usually pertaining to the race of the business’s owner.

“People like you are the reason Malaysia cannot emerge. You classify people based on their race, which is impolite and unprofessional.” Rajan replied to him. 

Despite the criticism, the travel agent goes on to say that Indians frequently ask too many “silly questions” and that “different industries” employ “different approaches” when Rajan informed him that she also worked in sales.

“Race has nothing to do with the inquirer,” Rajan said. 

But the travel agent responded by claiming that it does, before going on to say that, while he enjoys working in the industry, he dislikes dealing with “certain races” who cause “a lot of problems”. 

Rajan refused to tolerate his behaviour any longer and demanded to speak with his supervisor, which resulted in him sending a half-baked apology.

In it, he claims that he inquired about her race because he wanted to provide Rajan with “accurate information” about their tour packages, as they are run by Muslims.

On top of that, he also said, “I am not racist as i hv lots of chinese and indian friends too.” Sure, Zabri. 

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