Is there a change of policy by Defence Minister Najib Abdul Razak to recruit more non-Malays? We will never know the real reasons for this change. However, non-Malay Malaysians are well aware of the discrimination not just in the armed forces but in every aspect of life in Malaysia, be it in education, employment, housing or business.

To the many simple folk, before the affirmative policy was devised by the government, racial integration was never an issue. The policy has been formulated primarily to benefit one race yet it failed to achieve its objectives after more than 30 years.

Furthermore, the policy is fundamentally flawed and fails to help the many kampung folk. The policy has only widened the gap of wealth between the rich and poor Malay Malaysians and strengthened the competitiveness of the other races in the global market.

Sadly, the needy do not belong to just one race, but transcend across racial and national boundaries.

Discrimination — or its social manifestation, prejudice — is a natural trait of human beings. Many governments in the developed world have adopted policies to help to eliminate such discrimination. In Malaysia the government policies have the opposite effect.

Though imperfect, countries such as the US and UK have at least attempted to attract talents from other countries irrespective of skin colour, sexual orientation or beliefs. While the UK approved some tens of thousands of talents via their Fast Track Visa programme each year, our Multimedia Super Corridor has only dished out some 300 approvals (incentives scheme) to its own citizens since 2001. I understand the red tape involved is formidable too despite the one-stop approval centre.

Successful multinationals endeavour to recruit and engage the best of professionals based on talent. If Malaysia is to progress to meet the challenges ahead, can it afford to continue promoting just one race only?

There is no doubt the policies adopted by the government have caused a major brain drain of many talented non-Malay Malaysians. The loss of these talents goes beyond one generation. I personally know of a number of non-Malay Malaysians who have settled overseas and their off-spring are attending some of the world's top universities. This new generation now belongs to the host country.

'Malaysia Boleh!' may be chanted for all the nation's successes, but think how much more we could have achieved if the country had managed to eliminate racial discrimination. If Malaysia cannot use its own talents because of their ethnic background, other countries will, and have done so for many years.