Blog

Source: Daily Pioneer

The New "new" Normal

Zoey Cheah

Zoe Cheah is a biological science student studying at Imperial College London. She hopes that Malaysians will be able to unite to drive change in their country one day.


As the world shut its doors amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the phrase ‘new normal’ was one that became a part of daily vocabulary as people tried to find a compromise between returning back to normality whilst reducing the risk of disease. On my part, my ‘new’ normal was pretty mundane: eat, study, sleep. And repeat.

One morning, I woke up to the news of a world in uproar over the murder of George Floyd, who had been killed for over suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 note to purchase cigarettes. Like so many others before him, his unjust death was a reminder of the systemic racism and police brutality which exists in many countries to this day. As I spent more time on the internet and social media, I began to learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement and the forms of racism in my home country.

In Malaysia, racism is present in many forms: it is subtly there when you walk into a pharmacy displaying “skin whitening products”; it’s even more rampant in politics, where the notion of race is as unifying as it is divisive. However, learning about Malaysia’s mistreatment of Black and Brown people of colour completely floored me. It was as though the truth was staring back at me for the first time. Although I knew that racism existed in my country, why was I still so horrified when I read articles about how Indians make up nearly 25% of deaths under police custody, despite only making up 7% of the population?

And then it hit me- I had not known or made the effort to educate myself on this topic, as I had the privilege to do so. My own race protected me from ever experiencing overt racism like this. I wouldn’t have had to struggle as hard to find housing, a job, or let alone the acceptance of my peers and various authority figures. I’m still coming to grips with the amount of privilege I hold, and how that has allowed me to access some opportunities that I would not have had if I was not born into the family or race that I am a part of now.

Here’s one thing I learnt this past week: Confronting yourself is a hard thing to do. Even as I write this, I am struggling to find the words to explain that despite trying my best to educate myself on this issue, I may never truly understand it from the perspective of somebody who has been discriminated against. Despite this, I know that I can still be better. I have a voice, and it’s about time I use it to speak up for those who are so often silenced. Yes, learning about how you may have said something horribly racist two years ago is a hard pill to swallow, and changing your stance on a subject may be difficult. To some extent, we all cling to normalcy. But it’s hard to return to normalcy when so many people are discriminated against, attacked, and killed based solely on their identity. 

Inaction is a huge part of this normalcy.

In this new normal that the world is waking up to, it isn’t.  

Here are some articles to educate ourselves about racism in Malaysia: 

And here are some ways to help the BLM movement:

Personal blog: zoeeecheah.wordpress.com