Surge in post-Brexit hate crimes worries Singaporeans, Malaysians in UK

An anti-Brexit demonstrator (left) argues with a pedestrian in central London on 25 June, following the referendum result. (Photo: AFP TV)

REPORTING FROM LONDON

By Laych Koh

Malaysians and Singaporeans living in the United Kingdom (UK) say that they have not experienced any post-Brexit racist or xenophobic abuse but many have been alarmed by the surge in hate crimes being reported.

While reports of hate crimes have risen 57 per cent in the aftermath of the European Union (EU) referendum vote, most Malaysians and Singaporeans spoken to said that they had only read about these incidences on social media or in the news.

What they had read, however, had caused some alarm and dismay.

No abuse, but concerns aplenty

Malaysian Toh Eu-Wing, a doctor who lives in Nottingham, said that he worries for his family and friends despite having no such troubling encounters in the city, which had voted to leave the EU.

“It’s the public show of racism and xenophobia that is truly worrying. I mean, it’s the 21st century and there are still backward-thinking people like this around in the Western world. It is as though racist people have been given a license to act like that, post-referendum,” he said.

Singaporean Eric Tan said that he was still processing his shock at how the nation voted and although he would never feel unwelcome in London – “a city defined by diversity” – he nevertheless felt affected by the results.

“I stepped out on the streets and I didn’t feel any different, but I would say emotionally it felt like I had been hurt. Hurt to know that there are more people than not who felt that they have an issue with immigrants in the country, because that was probably the biggest point put out by the Leave Campaign,” he said.

Malaysian Devina Sivagurunathan, who also lives in London, echoed Tan’s despair about the results of the referendum, saying that she felt like “everything that I thought Britain stood for had changed”.

She said that she lived in a very multicultural environment and, as such, was not too concerned about being directly affected by the hate crimes currently being reported.

However, she was saddened by recent events as they seemed to have “stemmed from ill-informed xenophobia and lack of understanding for the economic implications for both the UK and the EU”.

In Coventry, Malaysians Farhana Abdul Fatah and Josephine Phang said they had not experienced anything negative post-Brexit, although both said they felt more wary than usual.

PhD student Farhana said that in the first few days of the results, she felt hat the only places she could feel safe were her at home and within her university’s grounds.

“But I remember going to the local shops again on a Sunday, and having felt like things had gone back to normal. I guess although some people might see the Brexit as license to be less hospitable, there are so many others who really don’t mind the presence of foreigners,” she said.

“This was a comforting belief, especially knowing that the majority of Coventry voted (to) Leave.”

Some other Malaysians in other cities that voted to “Leave” were less positive about the reactions of their communities.

A lawyer living in Wales who declined to be named said that while she had faced no hostilities, she had discovered some “unexpected shockers” from her neighbours, family members and acquaintances.

“My next-door neighbour who is from Asia voted to Leave! I learnt that she’d based her decision on some online question-and-answer quiz which indicated that she would vote Leave. By the time I left her house, she had emphatically exclaimed that she wished she hadn’t voted!” she said.

Other Singaporeans interviewed also said that while they were appalled and disgusted by the hate crimes reported against minorities so far, they felt the animosity was generally not targeted at them.

Rough times expected

Many Malaysians and Singaporeans expressed their concerns about the challenges the UK would face following the result and had many opinions regarding the country’s economic, political and social trials ahead.

Singaporean Yi Xin Seah said she was concerned about the pound’s strength and that the UK had not experienced the worst of the economic effects of the Brexit yet.

Another Singaporean, who declined to be named, said that she was concerned about the pressure the government would face to raise taxes and reduce benefits and public spending.

“I work in the NHS (National Health Service) and the funding is already atrociously limited. I cannot imagine the impact Brexit might have, I am afraid to even think about it. This is adding to the uncertainty of the NHS’ future,” she said.

Malaysian Erra Ghazali said she felt that as multinational banks were thinking of moving jobs to the continent, the negative effects of a UK exit far outweighed what the country had been spending on EU fees, which was an issue highlighted by the Leave campaign.

“I also feel sad to see how divisive society has become, especially their views on immigrants. I always saw the British as open, tolerant people, except for the few pockets here and there. But now they have made it truly clear what they think,” she said.

Staying hopeful

Many of those interviewed also said that despite the country’s current chaotic and uncertain situation, they harboured hope that the UK will be able to navigate itself through these difficult times.

Devina said that while she was fearful that far right ideas would take hold of Britain and Europe in general, she hoped that liberal values in the country would prevail.

Tan, who has lived in the UK for 12 years, said the current situation meant that those in Britain with extreme right-wing views would be more expressive about the ideologies they believed in.

“But is it not necessarily what the 52 per cent who voted Leave agree with – I think the people committing these crimes are opportunistic and extremist. The country now needs to put in a lot of effort to make sure the social integration they built up is not thrown down the drain,” he said.

“It would be such a shame, because the UK did social integration the best; pretty much more successfully than most European countries.”