The Kota Raya incident serves as a resemblance of the infamous Low Yat incident which took place not too long ago. Again we hear familiar baseless, provocative and unwelcomed speech by people who are prepared to manipulate issues to serve their own agenda.
It is clearly seen that in this incident, what we would call a commercial conflict was irresponsibly used to fan racial sentiment. This has put us in a testing time especially when we are sailing through rough tides and waves to achieve developed nation status, both economically and socially. If correct measures and adequate efforts are not taken, it can destroy the harmony our forefathers have strived so hard to keep.
Speaking from precedence, we should not be surprised by ideas like "Kota Raya 2", "Kota Raya 3", or even "Kota Raya 100". Unfortunately such idea can never be the solution to the problem as the real problem is never identified.
At some point in our life we would encounter dishonest businessman. They would often engage in unethical conducts which may sometimes be unlawful. A fair and just response would be to report them to the relevant authorities. Calling for a boycott on all the shops in the proximity and accusing an entire race to be sharing the same trait would tantamount to social injustice. Not to mention condoning such ideology and proposing a new mall run by another race, claming that it is a solution to what had happened.
Diversity in Malaysia is a unique privilege enjoyed by all Malaysians. We must stop becoming the silent majority as our silence can be deemed an permission for individuals to compromise our privilege in exchange for their own personal interest.