This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 30, 2020 - April 5, 2020

FINALLY, US President Donald Trump has decided he will stop using the term “Chinese virus” in reference to the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. Analysts and observers see that as a sign that the US and China want to de-escalate their blame game over the pandemic.

But Trump being Trump has also said he does not regret using the term. In an interview with Fox News a few days ago, he said: “I don’t regret it but they accused us of having done it through our soldiers. They said our soldiers did it on purpose…

“Look, everyone knows it came out of China but I decided we shouldn’t make any more of a big deal out of it. I think I made a big deal. I think people understand it. But that all began when they said our soldiers started it. Our soldiers had nothing to do with it.”

For the record, Zhao Lijian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, had pushed a conspiracy theory that the US army may have had a role in spreading the virus. Media reports have him saying in a tweet that “it might be [the] US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe (sic) us an explanation!”

China’s ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai, has distanced himself from his colleague’s statement, however, standing by his earlier view that “it’s crazy” to spread rumours about the coronavirus originating from a military laboratory in the US.

So was Trump justified in calling the coronavirus a Chinese virus? And did he say that with an eye on this year’s US presidential election? Interestingly, according to CNN, Trump is as popular today as he has been since his first day in office.

According to the news network, a new Gallup poll showed 49% approve of the job Trump is doing as president, matching his highest approval rating in Gallup surveys.

A Monmouth University poll released on March 23 showed Trump with an approval rating of 46%, again the best he has done in that poll in more than three years.

What accounts for Trump’s rise? According to CNN, the answer lies in his response to the Covid-19 pandemic. But I suppose his remarks about wanting to open up the US again by Easter despite health officials’ concerns did not feature in the polls questionnaire, as it was conducted before Trump made known his Easter intention.

And I am not sure whether his “Chinese virus” label had anything to do with his approval ratings. There are people who agree with him, however, that the term is appropriate, arguing that if food from China is called Chinese food and cars made in China can be called Chinese cars, why not a virus which came from China?

The logic may make sense to them, but many, including yours truly, see that term as racist. According to The New York Times, Chinese Americans had been spat on, yelled at, even attacked by bigots who blamed them for the spread of the coronavirus. With the president labelling it a Chinese virus, they were terrified about what could come next. By calling it a Chinese virus, Trump had undoubtedly fuelled such racism and bigotry.

Hopefully, with Trump deciding to end his use of the term, the anti-American Chinese, anti-Asian attacks will end as well.

Back home, race and religion have always been used for political rewards. And there is no denying that racial and religious sentiment had been fanned to frightening heights ever since GE14 in 2018, as the parties that lost power tried frantically to regain control without waiting for the next general election.

True, that is an old story, one that is very well known already. Furthermore, the parties that came into power in GE14 have been replaced by a new government.

But many Malaysians were taken in by the frenzy of racial sentiment post-GE14. To put it bluntly, the Malays who believed in the racial and religious rhetoric that they were fed are still holding on to what they had been told then. This, despite a change of government, which many of them approve of.

Thus, we see the DAP-bashing of the past continuing even though DAP is no more in government. And, sadly, it is continuing even during these trying and depressing times.

But it is not only about DAP. Race-­bashing, in particular against the Chinese, occupies too much space on social media platforms. The racism and bigotry covers all topics — from who is to blame for the pandemic to accusations about who is not abiding by the Movement Control Order right up to where the virus came from.

So, the pushback from the non-­Malays is only to be expected. It comes in the form of hate speech against Malays, blaming them and Islam for the spread of the virus just because of the Sri Petaling tabligh gathering.

During times of crisis, we see the ugly as well as the beautiful sides of mankind. Likewise, this pandemic brings out the best and the worst in us. Pray that the best outshines the worst.

People of all races the world over are falling victim to Covid-19. The virus does not discriminate. Why should we?

Mohsin Abdullah is a contributing editor at The Edge. He has covered politics for more than four decades.

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