Sharp increase in racism incidents in 2021, says rights group

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PETALING JAYA: There has been an increase in incidents of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia in Malaysia, according to a study by the rights group Pusat Komas.

According to the report titled “Malaysia Racial Discrimination Report 2021”, the number of incidents more than doubled from 21 in 2020 to 53 in 2021.

Of the incidents reported last year, the largest percentage involved racial and religious politics (28%), followed by racial and religious provocation (23%), xenophobia (13%), racial discrimination in the education sector (11%), racism in other sectors (11%), racism in the media and internet (8%), and racial discrimination in the business sector (6%).

The group listed all 53 incidents of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia in the report.

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