KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — A new study released by non-profit organisation, Architects of Diversity, has revealed that the room rental market in the Klang Valley displays significant racial discrimination, particularly against the Indian ethnic group.
The report, titled ”Room Rental Discrimination. Volume 1: The Klang Valley Report”, is the first systematic quantitative analysis of explicit racial discrimination in Malaysia’s rental sector.
Using data from a renowned room rental platform, the study analysed 35,367 listings to assess the extent of racial filtering by landlords and agents.
Alarmingly, 42.8 per cent of these listings featured explicit racial exclusions, surpassing those that welcomed all races (22.6 per cent) or had no stated preferences (34.6 per cent).
That simply means that renters searching for accommodation were statistically more likely to encounter listings that exclude certain racial groups.
The research highlighted that while 96.1 per cent of listings were open to Chinese renters and 92.4 per cent to Malay renters, only 68.3 per cent accepted Indian renters.
According to the data, a significant pattern of discrimination was evident, as 21.3 per cent of all listings excluded Indian renters while accepting tenants from other ethnicities.
The study also found that discrimination rates varied across the Klang Valley, with five areas exceeding 50 per cent.
Among the areas were Ampang (57.5 per cent), Taman Desa (56.2 per cent), Klang (54.8 per cent), Setapak (51.1 per cent), and Bangi (50.5 per cent).
In contrast, areas closer to the Kuala Lumpur city centre exhibit lower rates of discrimination, with KL City Centre (31.3 per cent) and Titiwangsa (25.7 per cent).
The report also points to a financial burden for Indian renters, as listings that do not discriminate against them are, on average, 11.2 per cent (RM735) pricier compared to those that exclude Indian renters (RM661).
According to the findings, the disparity suggested that more affordable housing options are often inaccessible to Indian tenants.
“We are looking at a failure on two fronts. First, Malaysia still has no law that explicitly prohibits racial discrimination in the private rental market,” said Architects of Diversity executive director Jason Wee.
According to him, Malaysia still has no law that explicitly prohibits racial discrimination in the private rental market; hence, landlords can openly refuse tenants based on race, and renters who are excluded have no legal avenue for redress.
“This has to change. When a platform designs a system that lets landlords tick a box to exclude an entire race from seeing their listing, that platform is not neutral.
“It is actively enabling discrimination at scale, and it should be held accountable for that design choice,” he said.
Asked about the root causes of the discrimination against the Indian ethnic group, Wee said most of the landlords who were interviewed in the past study cited bad experiences as their discriminatory reason.
“Most of these landlords also don’t see racial preferences as discrimination, which we find quite concerning,” he added.
