Hmmm it is not uncommon to give an agent a list of conditions because that is what an agent normally would ask.

For example, if you want to rent out a property, an agent would ask what kind of tenant you would prefer or if there are any preference.

As a landlord, you would prefer a responsible tenant who is financially stable, would like to stay long term, and also someone you can communicate with. Especially for any major maintenance or issues regarding the property.

For example, there is a lot of discrimination against foreign students mainly because they may not be as responsible as their tenure can be short (don't think of long term consequences to their rented house), their financial situation is not clear (late payments or non-payment), possibly unruly (due to peer mentality, culture), etc.

Why race is involved is due to cultural differences, racism, ignorance, etc. An Arab student can be as unruly as a student from China for example.

A landlord may not wish his house to be rented to a certain race, is mainly because he believes that certain race is more likely to be troublesome or there are conditions that may require them to be cautious to do so. For example, a landlord might be taking his neighbours into consideration. Or the landlord is a racist who believes his house shouldn't be 'stained' by the other race.

Is it racist? Yes it is.

Is it illegal? No.

Ultimately, the landlord has the final say who becomes his tenant, as at the end of the day he would need to deal with the tenant once the papers are signed. So if the landlord doesn't want to deal with a certain race, then it is better to be stated earlier than later.

How do we change this in the future?

As most of us grown up with less racism in our blood, we will be tasked to teach our children to let go of this mindset. Over a few generations, we will be rid of these type of policies and thoughts. Don't forget, the current parents of this generation was still taught by their parents who just went through Merdeka and are well aware of the systemic racism that still exists in the country. It takes a few generations and hopefully newer generations of government officials will also adopt more inclusive policies to get rid of this mindset.