I think you’ve hit the nail on its head, and I applaud you on making these thoughts public. In my simple mind, ‘Malay Rights’ – except perhaps to correct the economic imbalance – has always felt downright wrong, unIslamic even. But like many others, I feel it is not a topic easily questioned without being accused of disloyalty to the race, or ridiculed for being unrealistic. What I can never understand is how we’ve always been selling ourselves as a harmonious multiracial nation, when discrimination and intolerance is so embedded within the system.

Living in England for awhile now, I can’t help but notice how 2nd generation British-born Indians are so assimilated within the society, and how any form of discrimination towards the minority is totally condemned. In fact, I feel I – with no biological links whatsoever to the UK – have more rights as a resident here than my non-bumi countrymen have in Malaysia.

As for meritocracy, I felt privileged growing up in urban Malaysia where it seemed possible to live happily and compete on a level playing field within an integrated society… The sad thing is, however, even if us Malays worked hard and did well, our non-Malay friends may very well attribute our successes to the fact that we’ve had help as Malays. There’s little respect for us as a race. If I’m not mistaken, the black Americans opposed affirmative action that was to be introduced for their ‘benefit’ for this very reason, so as not to be seen as weak. What pride do we have as a race by claiming for ourselves – the majority race – special treatment? For saying that it is our right to do so since we, supposedly, own the land?

At the same time, we’re encouraging brain drain. So many of my brilliant non-Malay friends have no desire to return to their ‘homeland’ because they don’t feel anybody cares, which is extremely sad.

In a nutshell, thanks for speaking so succinctly for the rest of us. And well done for the blog too!