I just had a look at Suqiu's list of [#1]recommendations[/#] and I found them very reasonable. And I suspect, Malaysia's leadership does too as well. To give them the benefit of the doubt, I'm sure they would agree to implement most of them if they could. But as a matter of realpolitik, they simply can't.

Let just imagine for a moment that these recommendations are agreed upon by the ruling government. Then, let us remind ourselves that Barisan Nasional's strength largely lies in its dominant party, Umno - a party that is pledged to protecting the rights of the Malays.

By conceding that Suqiu's recommendations have merit openly, Umno would be committing political suicide, something that would certainly please Barisan Alternatif to no end. When this happens, the BA will come to power. Then what? Does anybody think that they'll have any more luck in making their constituents agree to Suqiu's appeals? Yeah, right, and donkeys have wings.

Can anyone seriously imagine Nik Aziz standing on his pulpit telling his followers, "You know, guys, I think we Malays have had a free ride for long enough - let's give the Chinese and Indians a fair share. Let's do away with our preferential treatment and be fair." The very fact that Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has also distanced herself from any challenge to the constitution in respect to Malay right underlines how difficult realpolitik can be.

The fact of the matter is this: As long as the Malays make up the largest section of our society, amending the constitution to recognise equality for all is going to be a task that no one can achieve. The only way it's going to happen is if the Malays themselves willingly give it up and that's an unlikely scenario until the level of education, prosperity and awareness in Malaysia as a whole improves.