Last Monday morning at Darling Harbour, three young men approached me with a swagger that felt newly emboldened. Their words were crude, their intent clear: I didn’t belong here. As an Australian man with Indian-Malaysian heritage who has lived in this country for decades, I nonetheless feel the effect of the ugly scenes and rhetoric we witnessed last this time last week.

Anti-immigration protesters march from Belmore Park towards Victoria Park during the “March for Australia”. Credit: Getty Images

This personal confrontation was no isolated incident – it was the toxic spillover from the weekend’s so-called “March for Australia” rallies, which drew more than 45,000 protesters nationally and were infiltrated by neo-Nazis chanting “Heil Australia”.

The atmosphere of hate these rallies generated doesn’t confine itself to Hyde Park or Federation Square. It seeps into everyday encounters, emboldens the worst instincts, and makes people like me question their place in a country they call home.

My parents made the decision to leave Malaysia seeking better quality of life in Australia and a deeper racial equality. They found it, as millions before and since have done. Australia has been our safe haven, our opportunity, our home. But moments like last Sunday make many of us question that narrative. Racism is not new to this country; what’s different now is how its public expression has been emboldened........

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