The recent university admission brouhaha is indeed a racial issue, and one can't help but looking at it from that angle. How can one explain the systematic exclusion of certain quarters of the society who 'happen' to be not of one particular race from university admissions when they are truly qualified?

I tried to find some justifications to it, I tried to look at it from different angles, they led me back to the basic issue, race. I still can't justify the steps taken by the government in responding to the situation.

In the face of racism, my Chinese parents told me to work hard, so that I can get somewhere in life. My parents encouraged and even pushed me to study harder day by day. My parents' advice, as many parents would advise in the same manner, is actually overlooking a very important principle of human rights, equality. They just took racism as it is. Day by day, I found it harder and harder for that kind of advice to sink in. Many people respond to racism with indifference. The mentality is, as long as we can still survive, let them do whatever they want.

What will happen to our future generations is for them to worry about. From this attitude, I can't help but to conclude that many non-bumiputra parents are either a selfish or timid bunch. They take the easier way out, pushing their poor kids, robbing them from their precious childhood. More and more, we're pushing our offspring to jump off the cliff. Why do we bring them to life just to tell them that 'the other race is more equal than them'?

Today, I am a parent. As my child is growing up, I find it impossible to offer him the same advice given by my parents. I can't look at him straight in the eyes and say, if you study hard, opportunities will be there for you. I can't lie to my own son, but at the same time, I know the truth will hurt him forever. Do I have to tell him that he is a lesser person because of his skin colour? Or do I show him that racism is unacceptable and should have no place in this world?

The choice is ours. All of us (regardless of racial background) can and should stand up against racism for our future generations so that one day our kids will be able to tell theirs that all of us are indeed created equal.

Government can and should help the weak. But it should not be basing it solely on race. There are thousands of hardcore poor who deserve help. There are thousands of well-off Malays who don't. Why is the Barisan Nasional government overlooking those poor folks and why does it keep showering those well-off bunch with more money?

The current government policies have failed us. It's time for a change. It's time for a new beginning. It's time we make sure our electoral voices are heard.