KUALA LUMPUR: Browsing through social media comments on road traffic accidents in Malaysia, content creator Vikneswaran Veerasundar notices a “frustrating” trend.If the perpetrator was found to be drink driving, some netizens would jump to conclusions about the individual’s race, even if authorities had not identified the person.Then come the comments about how drink driving seems to be prevalent in a particular race, and calls for harsher punishment. If the victim dies and is from a majority race, the backlash is often amplified.“It's always the same narrative and the same stereotypes being repeated over and over again,” Vikneswaran, 33, told CNA.
Deciding to satirise the phenomenon, Vikneswaran made a video that he posted on Instagram on Apr 6.In the video, Vikneswaran is shown watching the news at home. When a report of a fatal road accident comes up, he wishes to himself for the perpetrator to not “be an Indian”. When the news presenter confirms that the accused is Indian, he then hopes the man was not drunk.When it is revealed that the accused was driving under the influence of alcohol, Vikneswaran’s last hope is for the victim who died to be Indian too, so “no one will care”. The presenter then identifies the deceased as a Malay, and the triple whammy causes Vikneswaran to throw his hands up in the air in the video.
