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Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, a Malaysian public figure and academic with 182,000 Facebook followers, published a post today (19 Aug) stating that his Chinese family raised him to avoid gambling, alcohol and adultery — and expressing concern that all three were being normalised.
The post drew 8,400 likes, 1,900 comments and 556 shares within five hours.
Written in Malay, the post read:
Born into a Chinese family, I was raised by my parents with three rules: 1. No gambling. 2. No alcohol. 3. No adultery. Suddenly all of this is being normalised. What is happening to my race?
The post cited no specific incident, no named individual, no data source and no identified context for the alleged normalisation.
The First Question Was Not About Gambling
The 1,900 comments, a cross-section of which were reviewed at the time of publication, produced a consistent line of questioning — directed not at the content of the three rules, but at the identity of the person invoking them.
On the question of who “my race” refers to:
“Since when are you coming back as Chinese?” — Jerry Chong
“What race are you, exactly?” — Emelia Lim
“Kacang lupakan kulit.” — Shawn Michaell (Malay proverb, translated: The bean has forgotten its shell.)
On the generalisation applied to an entire community:
“Sweeping statements indeed.” — Vincent Eow
“Your race is fine. Only you are embarrassing yourself.” — MaddoX Wong
On the distinction between normalisation and personal choice:
“Does ‘normalised’ mean ‘forced’? Not liking something, not being allowed something, and not wanting something are three different things.” — Lee Siew Mei
A Dissenting Data Point
User Eunice Wong Qning submitted a detailed counter-position:
My family said: gamble a little for enjoyment — 小赌怡情. Drink a little for health. Don’t commit adultery — that one is correct. My family gave me these teachings and I did not become an alcoholic or a gambling addict. Does that mean I have strong faith? Or does everything need to be prohibited before faith can exist? Think for yourselves.
The original post did not respond to the comment.
The highest-engaged reply was posted two hours after the original, by a user identified as Ewe Wah Foo:
If you can’t convince them, confused them!
No elaboration was provided.
The post came days after Tee drew separate criticism for publicly questioning why a Hungry Ghost Festival banner in Ampang was written in Chinese rather than Bahasa Melayu — remarks that had themselves generated significant public backlash.
Ultra Kiasu On Monday, My Race On Wednesday
Tee, a Malaysian Chinese who converted to Islam in 1985 and adopted a Muslim name, once described the Chinese community as guests living in someone else’s country.
He does not hold office, but he regularly stirs public debate through social media posts and columns focusing on Malay-Muslim identity and national policies.
His public record includes repeated use of the term “ultra kiasu” — a pejorative directed at Malaysian Chinese implying extreme self-interest — across multiple posts, including two published on the same Facebook page in the 48 hours prior to this report.
In one post published two days prior, he wrote that a Chinese political leader’s call to review a university act amounted to following “ultra kiasu” influence, and questioned whether Chinese Malaysian students possessed the discipline to handle political activity alongside academic life.
And now, he referred to Chinese Malaysians as “bangsa saya” — my race.
He was previously a life member of MCA, but he quit the party in 2016 to protest its opposition to hudud law.
He is currently the deputy president of Muafakat Nasional, the UMNO-PAS coalition formed in 2019 around a charter of Malay-Muslim solidarity.
READ MORE: Ridhuan Tee Asks Why Hungry Ghost Festival Banner Not In BM; The Ghosts Were Not Available For Comment
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