I'm no political observer or some fella who can talk a lot about politics but some things are just hard to ignore. Special rights, priveledges, monopoly, support, incentives (when viewed in a large context like our country) are probably good to kick-start development and progress in the economy or to initiate recovery of the society, New Economic Policy, National Development Policy whatever they're called, but in my opinion, it's rather pointless to get these kind of techniques going on for a long period or when certain faction of the society are excluded. Especially when the people involved knows that they can get help whenever they need it without doing much effort to get it.

Malaysia, as happy as I am to be part of this country, is an imperfect mix of granted opportunities, corrupt practices and people and unequal fairness. If we put ourselves back in the seventies when Malaysia is known as the strip of land in between Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia and our economy relied mostly on commodities, then I guess those options mentioned above were necessary. But prolong use of these "advantages" will lead to misuse and corruption, and people will, in my opinion, will get lazy and overly dependent on others. This, I believe, will affect the entire social, economical and political stability of the nation.

This brings me to the extremely controversial issue of Malaysian Malaysia debate, once brought up by Lee Kuan Yew, in an attempt to seek a better and equal society (Even he wanted to be a Malaysian and sobbed when Singapore was forced to be independent). Article 153 clearly states that:

"It shall be the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this Article."

Just like the US or Australia, Malays in Malaysia are primarily descendents of immigrants who migrated to the Malay Peninsular almost a millenia ago. So, in conclusion, we're all immigrants, Malay, Chinese, Indians and some of the "dan lain-lain". The real Bumiputers are probably the Orang Asli, so is it right to impose this title to certain people just because they arrived earlier than the rest? I'm a Malay, but I just feel that everyone deserves equal opportunities and respect. And its interesting to note that the use of the word "Malay" is more often compared to "Bumiputera" which is more accurate in describing Article 153. "Ketuanan Melayu" or Malay Supremacy is just an excuse for those feeling insecure being in Malaysia where they face competition and feel intimidated by others. So to those who (Malaysian politicians and Malay hard-liners thinking they're doing it for the sake of the country, I'd rather not say names, but it's obvious who these people are) think they're better than the rest, please wake up and face the music. Afterall, we're all the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, our differences are only skin deep.

Help can only do up to a certain degree. Exposure is much better in making people open their eyes and observe reality. Working your way up with your own sweat and strength is more satisfying compared to getting more than enough help and support. As the current younger generation of Malaysians grow up to lead the country, I wonder how is it going to be when Pak Lah is gone. Well only time will tell. To move forward, we have to do some compromises, even when it's not in our favor.

And that brings us to another question, what is a Malaysian? We call ourselves Malaysians when we go abroad but back home, our inclination towards our race is greater. Sad, sad world we're living in....