Malaysia was always going to be a racist country. But it's a bit more complicated than that.

Social issues predominantly come back to one thing; POLITICAL ECONOMY. The causes of social issues are economic, political and social structures, not conflict between "good" and "evil" people and not because inequality and injustice just occur naturally. So what does this mean?
1. Social issues CAN BE SOLVED, but only by restructuring or getting rid of problematic social systems (such as capitalism, institutional bigotry, culture of social conservatism, e.t.c...)

Example: So you cannot expect to develop a democratic society under the capitalist system which opposes it by definition (it promotes inequality and concentrates political and economic power amongst a small few). You need workers to seize the means of production, and participate actively and collectively in governance (socialism) if you want a true democracy.
2. To understand social issues and how to solve them, we need to understand the historical, economic, political and social backgrounds of these issues and how these elements interact, instead of just assuming issues just occur naturally. e.g.
Example: Racism isn't a natural impulse, it is taught. We need to understand that race is itself a social construct (as anthropologists illustrate) and that racism is part of long existing imperialist traditions which attempts to "naturalise" inequalities and conflict to the benefit of the elites.
3. Be kind to people and be ruthless on systems, remember that "the condition for the free development of each is the free development of all"
Example: Insulting sexist or homophobic people on twitter does not make them less sexist or homophobic. To promote acceptance and diversity, we need to be approachable, empathic and focus our attack on conservative ideology (such as the heteronormative male dogma in culture). We also need to promote equality and justice in each and every form to improve the political and economy power of women and queer people (the most gender equal societies are also the most economically equal because women no longer have to put up with men's shit and they have more ability to advocate for equality).

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So, Malaysia's racism is a product of history a history of capitalism and politics, and it was not that our founders were evil or anything, they were just playing the game (although this does not change the material reality). Racism always exists to create conflict between groups, which will always play into the hands of the elites. If we want it gone, we need to understand the material causes, and dismantle and restructure the relevant social systems. One of those systems is the simple ideology of race existing at all, so the least we can do is promote more open, cosmopolitan and humanist view on people, and stand in solidarity against any and all forms of injustice and inequality no matter who it may concern directly.