I write in reply to Arbibi Arshoy's letter titled 'Are Malays being punished?' (May 8). His xenophobia is disheartening, to say the least.

He asked if Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement of a possible change to the university quota for races, is a punishment for the Malays, when the quota is for bumiputras. The majority of bumiputras are Malays, granted. But they are not interchangeable terms.

In asking whether the Malays are being punished, he forgets the punishment that the non-Malays have been meted out all these years. The large number of brilliant non-Malay students who have had to give up the hope of getting a place in local universities is not something new. Every year scores of such students are denied places in varsities. Some may say that many still receive places, but the truth of the matter is that most non-Malay students in local universities are in courses that are not their first or even second choices.

The ramifications of such a policy are wide-ranging.

First, brilliant students are not allowed to reach their full potential.

Second, it breeds racial resentment.

Third, the local varsities become a mere political instrument and not a place of academic and intellectual excellence.

Worst of all, it creates Malaysians who lose their love for Malaysia.

We have a policy that is both intrinsically flawed and consequentially disastrous.

I honestly believe that bumiputra rights are needed in many spheres of our society. And maybe even in education once. But not any more. The Malays have grown to become a race capable of achieving academic excellence without any help. The hundreds of Malays that graduate with merit in universities around the world are testament to their ability. If they can succeed in other universities that do not do them any favours, why not at home?