Racial profiling in the housing sector would send the wrong message to the international market, said Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

NONEAsked to respond to a Malay Mail Online report that residents of the Ridzuan Condominium in Bandar Sunway have agreed to a blanket ban on African tenants and would force them to vacate units within three months, Rahman said racial profiling "is not right".

"You cannot deny anyone buying property based on their race. It is crazy, it is not right. If you want to say there are problems with tenants, you can't attach that to their racial background," he said.

"To say that every African is a troublemaker is grossly unfair. I think we need to ensure there is no racial profiling. The moment you say 'no Africans' (in Malaysia), then there will be 'no' to Malaysians in South Africa.

"I don't want to give wrong signals to the international market that they're being profiled according to their race and country of origin."

Asked if the government would consider enacting a law similar to that in countries such as Australia - which has outlawed racial discrimination in the housing sector - Rahman said this was not necessary.

"We are not going to go into that. I don't think it is a widespread problem. There is this tendency for people to have that negative perception," he added.

"We are Malaysia. We are a free country - we are one of the biggest trading countries in the world, so we can’t afford to have racial profiling."

Contacted later, a management staff of Ridzuan Condominium refused to comment, saying it was not appropriate for him to do so.

He added that the Joint Management Board will meet before an official statement is made.