N. Dhamendran could be Malay for all I care

In this day and age, the immediate reaction most people usually have when it comes to social and political issues are posted on to social media.

As a journalist, my immediate reaction most of the time is to post something on social media as well. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram being my preferred choice.

Then of course, since I have the outlet, I will write about it in more depth in my columns or even in my video reports and documentaries.

And in this day and age, reaction and response from others to our comments are also very immediate and, most of the time, without much thought.

Yesterday, I posted an article in the Malay Mail on Facebook and Twitter about deaths in police custody and how Malays and Chinese detainees have died too aside from Indians.

This is, of course, my response to the recent death of N. Dhamendran while in police custody. And we all know that the policemen who were allegedly involved have now been charged.

All of a sudden, a person on my friend list commented that when other races die, no fuss is made. But when Indians die, everyone makes noise.

And he adds, apparently, that when an Indian dies, they all make noise as if Malay policemen are so evil. Now just back up right there.

The point of the Malay Mail article, and the reason why I posted it on social media, is that it is not about race at all.

64 Malays, 30 Chinese and 28 Indians have died in detention between 2000 and 2010. It means that various Malaysians of different ethnicities have died.

I strongly believe that the fuss made about this issue by Malaysians and by the media has never been about the fact that Indians have died. It is that Malaysians have died.

And correct me if I’m wrong, but there was never any issue made about the ethnicity of the policemen who was allegedly involved in N. Dhamendran’s death.

That’s the problem with many Malaysians today. Everything is filtered by race and ethnicity, thanks to how our societal system works.

It doesn’t matter if more Malays die or if Indians suffer more under detention. What matters is that any wrongdoing or injustice (or if there is a hint of it) be highlighted.

N. Dhamendran could be Ahmad Ismail, Chew Seng Chee, Nilam Surin, Jagdeep Sing, Smith Anderson or even Hernando Rodriguez.

I would still make noise on social media, in my columns or my documentaries if there was a blatant injustice to his death. That would be my responsibility.

So don’t make it about race. Because if you do, you are just trivialising the death of a human being who deserves the respect and rights equal to anyone.