Kuala Lumpur: Comedian Harith Iskander (pic) has sparked debate on race and national unity after replacing the word "Melayu" with "Malaysian" in a reply to a Threads post calling for Malay solidarity.
The exchange began when a Threads user, jyazman, posted: “Tolong la normalise kan melayu support melayu. Kita berjaya sama sama. Jangan gadoh gadoh please,” (Please normalise Malays supporting Malays. We succeed together. Please don't argue.), to which Harith replied: “Tolong la normalise kan Malaysian support Malaysian. Kita berjaya sama sama. Jangan gaduh gaduh please,” (Please normalise Malaysians supporting Malaysians. We succeed together. Please don't argue.), with the original post receiving 857 likes and Harith’s reply attracting 2,500.
Harith later shared a screenshot of the exchange on his Facebook page with the question, “Siapa masih ingat rancangan Gado Gado kat TV dulu?” (Who still remembers the TV programme Gado Gado?), where the post has since attracted more than 2,200 reactions and 449 comments, as reported by The Rakyat Post on Sunday.
The responses reflected differing views on national unity, with some commenters citing Mandarin-only job advertisements and vernacular schools as obstacles to cross-racial support, while others argued that Malay solidarity was no different from practices within other communities, and commenters Shawn Carter and Harold Chia said support should be based on merit rather than race.
The discussion is consistent with Harith’s long-standing advocacy of Malaysia’s multiracial identity through comedy, although some of his public comments over the years have drawn criticism and, on at least one occasion, legal action.
More recently, Harith faced criticism for using the term "Bahasa Malaysia" instead of "Bahasa Melayu" in a video criticising the behaviour of Malaysian tourists abroad, with the comedian saying his choice of words was intended to be inclusive despite prompting divided public opinion.
