Referring to talk about the special rights of the Malays, we need to look at history to know how the implementation of affirmative action in Malaysia came about.

The late prime minister Tun Abdul Razak implemented the New Economic Policy, with the great economic and educational divide that existed between the Bumiputra and non-Bumiputra as justification. Thus the NEP was aimed to bridge this divide by 1990.

The target that it set could not be met. Nevertheless, the conditions of the Malays have improved, although it is arguable to what extent, and whether the elite and cronies benefitted more from the NEP.

We can also see how Indians, who do not have the economic superiority of the Chinese or the benefit of the quota system of the Malays, have been marginalised. We also see poor Malaysians, be they Malay, Chinese or Indian, become victims of the system.

There is no debate on whether the race-based system implemented in Malaysia needs to be revamped, if not scrapped. Since the NEP was supposed to benefit the poor Malays, I think we should set a system where aid, scholarships and quotas are not awarded according to whether you are a Malay, Chinese or Indian, but your income level.

This is a very radical suggestion. The NEP and the special rights are very thorny issues among Malays, but they need to be studied and re-assessed. Malays have rights. But the rights should not be defended at the expense of those of the Chinese and Indians.