Finding a place to stay is already a challenge in itself, but when coupled with a dose of racial discrimination, it makes the process all the more difficult and unpleasant.
A Malaysian woman recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn a real estate agent who displayed racism towards her during a conversation, which ultimately led to his termination.
M’sian woman calls real estate agent out for racism
Speaking to WeirdKaya in an exclusive interview, the OP named Kalvin said she first got in contact with the real estate agent via PropertyGuru as she was looking for a place to rent.
After she established contact with the agent on WhatsApp, he began asking for her information such as her name, race, profession and the month she planned to move in.
However, things took a sour turn when Kalvin told the agent she was looking to move in at either March or April, which irritated the agent and caused him to reply her with a snarky ‘Then you can find (a) house on Feb’.
“I asked him why since the post didn’t say I must move in by a specific date. He replied by saying that he didn’t want to waste my time.
When I told him there was a better way to convey the message, he proceeded to give me a racist reply: ‘From (the) beginning I also don’t want to do Indian or Punjabi business'”, she said.
Unsurprisingly, Kalvin was deeply shocked and angered by the agent’s racism and immediately lodged a complaint with the agent’s company.
She also called upon netizens to retweet and share the thread until the agent apologised.
Today it’s against Indians and Punjabis. Tomorrow it’ll be against Malays.
— Kalvin (@kalvinderks_) January 10, 2024
Please share this until this pathetic Alan Chia apologies publicly and no other property agents dare to make such remarks.
Please RT and SHARE.
Thanks.
She also told WeirdKaya that this was her first time encountering an agent who blatantly said he disliked dealing with Indians and Punjabis.
Agent terminated by company
It didn’t take long for the tweet to go viral online, where it eventually prompted the agent’s company to issue a statement about it.
Replying to Kalvin’s thread, the company said that the agent was fired following an investigation and the agent’s own admission to making the racist remarks.
“We are strongly opposed to any form of discrimination and do and will continue to respond to it strongly,” it added.
After investigation and given Alan Chia's admission of the facts of the issue, we have terminated Alan Chia with immediate effect and he no longer acts as an agent of IQI.
— IQI Global (@IQIGlobal) January 10, 2024
We have a very diverse group of staff and agents from different countries including Malaysia, Philippines,…
When asked by WeirdKaya what she felt about the company’s apology and termination of the agent’s services, Kalvin said while they personally informed her that they had received her complaint and were probing the matter, she felt it could’ve been done differently.
Rightfully, the company should revert back to me personally before making a public statement. I find it unacceptable,” she said.
Read the thread here:
I don’t normally do this but this is completely UNACCEPTABLE. Contacted a property agent, his response was fine initially, but immediately after obtaining my name and race, he was rude. When I questioned him, see what he says.
— Kalvin (@kalvinderks_) January 10, 2024
He blocked me right after. pic.twitter.com/UAhNUdFnih
Special thanks to Kalvin for allowing WeirdKaya to share her story and be interviewed for this article.
Read more stories of racial discrimination here:
