In conclusion, the situation of racial relations in Malaysia can be jeopardized by the causes of racial disputes. Among the causes of racial strife is that the country is colonized by the British, people do not want to receive help or cooperation from others, lack of tolerance between races and cultural differences and inter-racial lifestyles. These racial issues can threaten national unity, spark conflict and disrupt national security. The government and society must work together to curb the problems between the races before the issue becomes bigger and unresolved.
Racial unity is essential to ensuring that Malaysia remains peaceful and prosperous in the future. This unity will help the country develop more rapidly with the cooperation that has been developed.
Critically, it is clear that the economic factor leading to this event was the settlement of Medan village at that time consisting of rows of squatter houses which showed that most of the people there were poor and poorly educated. This would create problems for gangs, unemployment, drug abuse issues and people who are not open minded because of the lack of exposure in education.
From the events of Medan village many negative effects have been identified including bloodshed, the gap in social relations is growing where misunderstandings and negative views of other ethnic groups are due to racial attitudes in some people. Racism should be avoided because it can disrupt the race not only in the short term but it can also have a negative effect in the long run. Examples of short-term effects are in terms of employment and education opportunities where there is a bias toward a company or university held by a majority of the people. This will cause dissatisfaction and envy will eventually lead to racial unrest. If jealousy and resentment continue, Malaysia’s national security and social structure will be threatened and the people will no longer live in peace and harmony.
Therefore, all parties need to be aware of the issues of race around us and everyone plays a significant role in preventing racial misunderstandings. The government plays a very important role in uniting the people of Malaysia. The main thing that the government should be concerned about is the economic factors in some areas. This is because, the lack of a large inter-ethnic economy will make it difficult for the agenda of unity and racial integration. The government should be aware of non-development areas such as building low cost flats, clean water supply and electricity supply. The government also needs to help children born of families with disabilities in education. This is very important to improve the quality of life of the people and produce an open minded people. According to Sufean Hussin (2000), in his book entitled Motivational Education Policy Perspectives on Systems and Organizations states that education is a key factor in developing and transforming a nation’s economy. An effective education system can provide an environment and social amenities for the people and young people to strengthen unity in Malaysia. Through education, the birth of knowledgeable individuals who can compete in various fields, especially to change the economic pattern of the country. Thus, the lack of inter-racial economy can be attenuated and can erode the recognition of racial identity through economics. With this, the Malaysian economy will also be open to all races in the country.
Sporting activities can also serve as a stimulating agent for ethnic relations. This can be seen through a competition or sporting event represented by Malaysians like Dato ‘Lee Chong Wei in badminton, various communities and races have come together to provide support not just in the badminton court, but in the stadiums. and also at home. Victory and defeat will be shared with all Malaysians. This clearly shows that sports activities can unite the people and the people of Malaysia. In this regard, the government also plays an important role in strengthening co-curricular activities at the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. Through co-curricular activities such as sports, culture and the arts, the spirit of mutual help and mutual trust will be born within each student. Student involvement in co-curricular activities will give rise to open-minded and mature students in social. The establishment of more sports schools by the government could also help strengthen racial unity in Malaysia.
In addition, teachers or student representatives can organize and hold sports and cultural day by engaging all students regardless of skin colour in the co-curricular unit at the school and university level. The students also can recognize a variety of sports and games that come from nations other than Indians like kabaddi, sepak raga of the Malays and xiang qi of China. Not only sports and games, cultural events, can also be used as an effective medium because in the culture, more culture will be highlighted to the students through acting, dancing, singing and painting not only from the Malays, Chinese and Indians even more races to be introduced such as the Iban, Bidayuh and Melanau. When these cultures are published to students, they will be more accepting and respectful and sensitive to the sensitivities of other nations. Thus, the birth of art people who understand the culture at the same time will lead other people towards empowering and strengthening unity among Malaysians.
The teacher represents the government as the agent of racial unity among the students in the school. Teachers should therefore be prepared with sufficient knowledge and prepared for the various challenges and situations in the school. This is because racial problems can not only occur in adults but it can also occur in youth. Problems like these can arise from mockery that can lead to fights and bullying. Teachers need to be mindful of all students to avoid this problem in school by implementing values such as patriotism so that students respect each other and unity among students of various races can be strengthened. A lack of knowledge and an attitude of laxity and laziness about current issues can cause problems in the teaching and learning process. In addition, it can also affect the education policy and the government’s desire to unite the people.
Furthermore, the mass media plays a role in providing cultural exposure to many ethnic groups. The mass media should be more careful in communicating a policy especially if the issue touches a people’s sensitivity. The mass media should not resort to entertainment alone. As today’s society is increasingly focused on television and smartphone screens, mass media has been a major influence in promoting unity in society. Films and films that incite the spirit of unity such as Sepet (2005): A Malaysian National Film and Ola Ball (2016) need to be screened for the Malaysian public to be more open about the importance of unity in maintaining national harmony. The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia should take smart and efficient steps by diversifying ways such as advertisements, posters and campaigns to attract the public and can make a huge impact and can appeal to the local community to cooperate in helping the government achieve unity. strong community and at the same time a valuable asset to the nation.
According to the Malay proverb, “How the mold, that’s gravy”, parents also play a very important role in shaping positive values in children’s self. Childrens personalities reflect their parents second attitude. Values such as honesty, tolerance, justice, respect for older people and civic awareness need to be implemented. In addition, parents need to encourage children to participate in programs such as the government-run PLKN and RIMUP. In this program, children can interact with students of different races and backgrounds while also getting to know new friends during the program. Parents also take the children to participate in activities organized by neighbouring community associations in residential areas such as gotong-royong activities and cultural nights. By participating in these activities, children will become more exposed to the cultures of the people while also interacting and getting to know more about the diversity of society in Malaysian society.
In everyday life, unity can be achieved if people are tolerant of each other. The gotong-royong activity is an effective step in instilling a sense of unity within the community as it is a time for the community to cooperate and help one another to clean up an area. In addition, the gotong-royong activities also opened up opportunities for the community to meet and get to know each other. In social relations, society must be sincere in establishing relationships with people of different skin, culture and race. By adopting a spirit of belonging, a comfortable and harmonious neighbourhood can be maintained while maintaining a sense of security in the local area. When every society adopts pure values, solidarity between the people can be born and even envy and misunderstanding can be avoided and the independence of the nation will continue for generations to come.