Malaysia boasts a multicultural and multiracial background – but unfortunately, many locals still experience bouts of racism, even from individuals in the professional field. Twitter user Kalvin recently exposed her conversation with an IQI Global property agent named Alan Chia, who she found disrespectful.
Kalvin wrote in her tweet, “I don’t normally do this but this is completely UNACCEPTABLE.” According to the user, she had contacted Alan to enquire about a property – but after providing her name and race, the property agent started responding rudely to Kalvin and even made a racist remark. According to the screenshot of their conversation, Kalvin had called Alan out on his rude behaviour. However, Alan replied, “Whatever you want to think. And from the beginning, I also don’t want to do Indian or Punjabi business.”
Kalvin was understandably offended by the racist remark but also revealed that Alan had blocked her right after the conversation, which was disrespectful of an agency-backed property agent. In a separate tweet, Kalvin laments that Alan’s racism may not be limited to a specific race and demands the agent to publicly apologise for his remarks. She also said that she hoped the issue could serve as a lesson for other property agents to refrain from making such remarks to clients.
Many netizens who reacted to the tweet were similarly appalled by Alan’s racist comments, urging him to apologise to Kalvin. Some of Alan’s previous clients revealed that this isn’t the first instance of his unprofessional behaviour, saying they also had a terrible experience working with him. Unfortunately, some lamented that many other property agents are just as rude as Alan, if not more.
IQI Global has also responded to the issue, apologising to Kalvin and releasing a statement regarding the agent’s behaviour. IQI Global said that they had terminated Alan and that he would no longer be an agent under the company. Kalvin did acknowledge the statement but added that she won’t accept it as she has yet to receive an official response and apology from the company and Alan.
We hope IQI Global and Alan will respect Kalvin’s request and issue a formal apology. Perhaps this incident can urge other property agents to reflect and be more professional when dealing with clients.
Update (12th January)
Not long after the issue went viral, former IQI Global agent Alan Chia posted a public apology on Twitter the same day he was terminated from the company.
