opinion The argument for affirmative action is that the bumiputra have been sidelined during the colonial time thus giving other races in Malaysia an upper hand in the social and economic fields. Therefore, after Independence, the government introduced policies to reverse this trend.

After over 40 years, it still fails to achieve the intended effects. Something is seriously wrong somewhere. The colonial policies could have put the bumiputra in a disadvantaged position, but I would argue that the government's policies are in fact encouraging this status quo.

The recent admission by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that the government had a problem filling 55 percent of university places with Malay students as they did not meet the minimum standard is certainly timely and bold.

He said: 'The performance of Malay students is poor because, on being enrolled into the university, they do not put their time and energy into their studies."

Who would when their places in the universities are almost guaranteed ? Who wants the harder way when there is an easier way out?

Only by dismantling the quota system will the Malays progress, argues Dr M. Bakri Musa, author of The Malay Dilemma Revisited.

'No matter what, there will always be 60 percent bumiputra. And yet, despite such quotas, local universities still have difficulty filling their science and engineering faculties,' he said.

Three reasons

I would argue based on three reasons why it is time we do away with the affirmative action especially in the education field.

First, this policy that identifies Malaysians by their race is against the government's call for unity. You can't expect every Malaysian to feel truly Malaysian when, at the same time, the government is separating us into two groups.

Worse still, the treatment for these two groups are different. On the rhetoric level, there is unity and harmony among us, but when it comes to more realistic things like education, when certain quarters feel that too much has been given to a certain group of people, we can't help but realise that we are still different.

To expect the same loyalty from every Malaysian, the government should give every Malaysian the same treatment.

Secondly, it is sad for anyone if their success based on their own efforts is not recognised by others. Anyone of us who has worked hard would want our success to be recognised by others. The truth is, whenever there is a successful bumiputra, some of us would say the success is partly attributed to the government's assistance.

This is certainly not fair for those who had really worked hard and made it all by themselves. On the other hand, when the government has formally recognised that bumiputra need assistance and can't compete on a level playing field, it somehow does not encourage the bumiputra to push themselves to achieve their true potential.

Unintended effect

In theory, affirmative action and quotas are meant to bring the Malays on par with the Chinese (often just referred to as 'other races' in our daily press). But these same quotas all too frequently have the unintended effect of making the Malays less competitive.

Logically, why is there a need to do well when places are already guaranteed (for example, in local universities) under the Constitution?

Malays are not genetically slower, but this is what will happen when government policies are only designed with the political and not the social effect in mind. This is also a waste of our human resources.

Thirdly, as we all know, Malaysia is losing thousands of our bright students each year. If Darwinism is the name of the game, the future is not exactly bright for Malaysia.

We all want to be recognised for what we are capable of achieving. When the environment does not welcome such enthusiasm, we would naturally move to other places where our talent is recognised. Malaysia can't afford such losses. And Vision 2020 is less than a generation away.

Sweeping these problems under the carpet certainly won't help. To admit that these problems exist and that something needs to be done about it, is the first step towards solving them.

Cozy cushion

Objectivity should overrule in cases like this. Denial would not do anyone any good. Assistance is welcome, but it should remain as such. When assistance is viewed as the solution, it fails to achieve the desired effects.

With a cozy cushion to fall on, true potential might never be revealed. Affirmative action, which is supposed to help the bumiputra to catch up, may finally be the reason why they are left behind.

CHAI MING HOCK, a recent graduate from a local university, believes that attitude has nothing to do with race - it's all in the environment.