We didn’t eve know Majalah Gila-Gila, more or less the Malaysian counterpart to MAD Magazine, was still in print, let alone still able to grab the attention of Malaysian social media.

And yet here they are, trying to make us laugh like the good old days … and maybe wishing a little too much for the “good old days”. Indie filmmaker and photographer Mahen Bala came across the May issue of Gila-Gila, and promptly posted a particular strip from that issue on Facebook. It’s a little gross.

The strip, titled Apa Yang Kita Takut Kalau Ramai Sangat Pendatang Asing… (“What We’re Scared Of Most When There Are Too Many Immigrants…”) is a smorgasbord of jibes at negative stereotypes – “fear of losing out on jobs”, ” “fear of foreigners enjoying government subsidies”, “fear of foreign criminals”, “fear of increased ethnic violence”, “fear of our women being seduced by foreign men”, “fear of increased prostitution”.

It’s kind of sad to see a satire magazine which commands such nostalgic affection from its readers spewing out this simplistic, xenophobic and jingoistic hate speech. Or has Gila-Gila always been this way?

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