There has been much debate on the issue of racial quotas and bumiputraism. It is immoral to question the origin and the native status of a non-Malay who was born and bred in Malaysia and whose family have lived here for generations.

In the letter Bumi-bashing has to stop (June 15), Fairplayer hiding in his own inconspicuous bias, still questions the loyalty of the non-Malays who "refused to go back to their motherland".

The fact was that the vast majority of them — 80 percent or so — of Chinese and Indians at Independence were born in Malaysia. Fairplayer implied that their citizenship status was given by Malays and only Malays could decide one's citizenship status.

Hundreds of thousands of Indonesian immigrants have been given the bumiputra status before the non-Malays who have been here for centuries?

The fact remains that not all Chinese are rich and not all Malays are poor. And hence any atonement policies have to be race blind.

That was all about South African apartheid regime which was based on white Afrikaner (Dutch descent) 'bumiputrasim' which gave the whites unchallenged rights to decide one's 'citizenship status'. What differences are their between an Umno Malay supremacist and a White supremacist of apartheid regime? Their ideology is the same: bumiputrasim or nativism with no intention to form a non-racial democratic state.

Physical segregation of races into different public facilities such as toilets and so on were considered 'petty apartheid'. What the 'true apartheid' that horrendously divided the South Africans was racial quotas in jobs and disproportionate allocation of state funds for education purposes and many other racial privileges given to a single race, not basic rights intended to the needy.

The difference between a private college and Mara is that the former is privately funded while the latter is solely state-funded. Why should a state-funded university or college be mostly for one race while private colleges are open to all? That was what apartheid was all about — the overwhelming state fund designated overwhelmingly for the advancement of a single "poor white" race.

It seems the government and the state is owned by a single creed of the society notwithstanding the fact that all races contribute their taxes to the state.

Poverty cuts across all races in Malaysia. If after more than 30 years of the National Economic Policy, the Malays still groan over fact that they are poor, then we should not only abandon a failed and dreadful NEP but the ailing mindset and ideology behind it: Malay domination.

Giving a 30 percent cut for private college fees will not help the Malays and this demand is racially biased and morally wrong. It is based on a racist bias that all Malays including the rich ones need 30 percent fee discount to go to private colleges at the expense of both poor and rich non-Malays. In fact 40 percent of private colleges students of all levels — certificate, diploma and degree programmes — are bumiputras.

Opening 10 percent matriculation programme or even Mara does not hide the fact that state fund is only used for the betterment of one race. That will continue to harm the nation in the effort to form a democratic non-racial society.

Until a non-racial socio-economic and education system is developed, there is no hope for true unity among Malaysians. The society must be non-racial and it renders help to all regardless of race but based on needs. This is the middle ground between a paper meritocracy and apartheid: affirmative action.

To achieve a true non-racial Malaysian society, there must be a platform to form a democratic Malaysia where uninhibited deliberation of the issue should be cherished. I would say that there will be no non-racial society possible under the shadow of Internal Security Act, Official Secrets Act, and many repressive laws by fettering an already weak constitutionalism.

First let us achieve a truly democratic state and abandon many features of 1957 Constitution that has failed to advance Malaysia into a democratic non-racial country by introducing entrenched clauses on unfettered freedom of speech, fair electoral law, proportional representation for all parties by cutting down the possibility of elected dictatorship.

Best of all, Malaysians shall be allowed to elect directly the executive heads of the country and various states, and subject candidates to the wishes and wills of all races.

Democracy is the only way out, my friends.