The New Straits Times, September 3, 2000
By Prof Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
DURING the "e-revolution Malaysia beyond 2000" conference (NST, Aug 26), Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was quoted citing a recent study that "the problem of racial polarisation was now worse than it had ever been. Local university students do not mix freely among the races".
This is far from what the country needs, especially from a likely group of intellectuals among the generations of Wawasan 2020. As noted by the Deputy Prime Minister, the country needs "idealistic, intelligent and open-minded youths" and there is "no place for the close-minded" bigots.
Given such a comment, it is interesting to compare what science has to say about the subject of "race". One recent view is based on findings of the human genome as related in an article entitled "DNA Research Shows Race Is Only Skin Deep" by Natalie Angier of New York Times Service (IHT, Aug 24).
The article underscores that "the racial categories recognised by society are not reflected on the genetic level". Indeed, with the advances in the Human Genome Project, it can now be more convincingly put foward _ "that the standard labels used to distinguish people by 'race' have little or no biological meaning".
Despite the varying traits such as skin, hair and eye colour, or the contours of the nose and body, if at all there is a "race", it is only the human race, Homo sapiens.
As stated by Dr Craig Venter, head of the Celera Genomics Corporation in Rockville, Maryland: "Race is a social concept, not a scientific one".
He as well as other researchers contented that those traits most commonly used to distinguish one race from another, as mentioned above, are those "controlled by a relatively few number of genes". These are some of the traits that have been able to change rapidly in response to the extreme environmental pressures during the relatively short period of human history.
For example, just as some people developed darker complexions, presumably to protect their skins against exposure of ultraviolet radiations, especially in the equatorial regions; others in places further away from the equator tend to have lighter coloured skins.
Thus, according to Dr Harold Freeman of the North General Hospital in Manhattan: "If you ask what percentage of your genes is reflected in your external appearance, the basis by which we talk about race, the answer seems to be in the range of 0.01 per cent".
In other words, there are far more common genetic features that bind the human race together rather than those of the external traits that tend to differentiate them. Overall, scientists estimate that 99.9 per cent of the human genome is the same in everyone, and that we are more alike than we are different.
Unfortunately, however, the differences in the external traits are more recognisable, and could be readily used and accepted in the make-up of the various "racial" classes. At a glance, for example, it is easier to see how different are the inhabitants of Asia from that of Europe and Africa.
Seemingly we are programmed to take notice of racial differences although it is "a very, very minimal reflection" of our genetic makeup, according to Freeman, who has studied the issue of biology and race closely.
In some cases, it prompted people "to exaggerate the significance of what has come to be called race", said Douglas Wallace, a professor of molecular genetics at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
This has created a number of schools of thought where the issue of "race" will continue to be debated. But from the scientific viewpoint, however, it is heartening to note that thus far research on the human genome has endorsed the DNA hallmark of "race".
This is such a profound development that it should be acknowledged by all in the name of peace and harmony among mankind at all levels.
History after all, more so in recent times, has witnessed too many lives lost in the advancing race-based ideologies. From the very days of Western colonialisation, to that of ambitions of the likes of Hitler and Milosevic, there has been too much genocide, racial cleansing, racially instigated violence as some continue to assert that they are the purest of all races.
Till today some groups of people continue to be subjugated just because their looks and traits are racially different from that of the mighty and powerful. Even in the age of the Internet, there is no lack of examples of hate websites that feed on the arrogance of one racial group based on skin colour. All these tend to poison the minds of many.
On the home front, Malaysia too has had its blemishes when it comes to such "racial" incidents _ the days of "Bintang Tiga" to the more recent May 13 tragedy. We, as a nation, suffered in both instances. The price in terms of peace and harmony is high. The colonial policies of divide and rule along racial lines has much to do with our mindset today.
With all these in mind, Malaysians at large, not just limited to university students, will be well advised to try to understand the significance of "race" from the Book Of Life, especially in forging greater understanding among themselves. It, at the very least, could be an initial starting point in finding a common platform against the "polarised" state of affairs reported recently.
As observed by the Deputy Prime Minister, racial polarisation could "drive a permanent wedge between the races and threaten the equilibrium" of peace and prosperity. This is something Malaysia can ill-afford.
If we have been focusing on the differences between the various so-called "racial" groups and are persuaded to behave differently towards each other, the growing scientific knowledge on this issue could offer alternative views. After all, as pointed out in the article, "Regardless of race or creed, we really are all kin beneath the skin".
The statement, if properly understood and translated into action, is almost medicinal in that it can help us to focus on our "genetic fraternity that binds together human beings of the most seemingly disparate origins".
