Impact Race Factor On The Tolerance Of A Multicultural Society In Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia is a country where people of diverse ethnicity and religion live together in a society for so long, establishing a unique multicultural identity. Nevertheless, the efforts to maintain the harmonious atmosphere is not easy, there are challenges especially in the Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) era, where the development in information and communication technology (ICT) platforms grows rapidly. Some of the digital media facilities offered are not utilised for their intended purpose, instead, they are now used as provocative instruments.Unfortunately, freedom of speech and expression are misinterpreted, leading to ethnic and religion slurs, as well as incitement to hatred. Thus, this study aims to analyse the impact of race's factor on the tolerance of multicultural society in Malaysia. The study used a survey design by adopting the quantitative method. The set of online questionnaires was distributed to 260 respondents, and the data obtained were subject to inferential analysis using ANCOVA. The study findings concluded significant impact of race factor's on the tolerance of multicultural society in Malaysia. Results indicated that Borneo (M = 2.85, SD = 0.426) showed more racial tolerant, followed by Others (M = 2.75, SD = 0.614), Indian (M = 2.73, SD = 0.553), Malay (M = 2.66, SD = 0.498) and Chinese (M = 2.52, SD = 0.635). Understanding on cultural and religious diversity is very important in producing a harmonious and tolerant society. The nature of mutual understanding in every citizen is able to create a society that respects, united and tolerates each other.