Jeffrey is correct to want moral consistency from Malaysia's reformers (Understanding 'human rights' in M'sia, May 30). And as a matter of consistency, those who desire reform ought to be as concerned about the injustices perpetuated by racial preference policies as they are about laws like the Internal Security Act.

However, as a matter of strategy, it is clear that the ISA and other oppressive laws must be eliminated before there can be any hope of remedying the problems attached to racial preferences.

Crafting new affirmative action policies will be a very complicated process, one that will require broad collaboration and careful reflection from all sectors of society. If Malaysians cannot associate and speak freely, if they must constantly look over their shoulders in fear of arbitrary detention and torture, then they can never engage in the deliberation that is a prerequisite for solving much more difficult problems.

All Malaysians should join the writer and continue to call for moral consistency. But Jeffery and others like him should not hold back from cooperating to bring an end to oppressive laws just because some of their fellow Malaysians cannot yet maintain the same consistency.