Kim Quek's excellent letter is a stunning indictment of Umno and the government's policies since the inception of the New Economic Policy in 1971.
Sadly, the ultimate loser will be the entire Malaysian nation as we have lost the opportunity to be a great nation. Instead of building upon our potential to be successful international player in the ranks of countries such as Holland, Taiwan, South Korea, Sweden, Belgium, it looks like we will eventually, and slowly but surely, join the ranks of countries such as the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the Lebanon, Cambodia - regional stars and full of potential in their heydays but brought to their knees by bad government and bad policies.
Sadder still, the loss will be felt most by the Malay masses who put their trust in Umno and the government to bring them the rewards of freedom and independence but whose general standard of living and development has not changed significantly over the years.
Ironically, the non-Malays are far luckier in that discriminatory policies over the years have steeled them to compete and hence prepared them for the global stage where most of the better ones now find their niche. Circumstances have forced many non-Malays to seek their fortune and livelihood outside Malaysia.
Intended or not, national policies have certainly helped to change the demographic makeup of the nation in favour of the Malays. Hopefully this will reduce the 'insecurities' felt by Malays in their own country. But there is no evidence of this happening yet though. These so-called insecurities have been the bedrock of justifications for discriminatory policies, intended to be interim measures but look set to be practised in perpetuity.
Those with a sense of history would recall the Malay special rights as contained in the Merdeka (Independence) constitution provided for limited privileges, to be reviewed in 15 years, i.e. by 1972. That deadline has passed for over 31 years and we are still in an environment dictated by quotas and all forms of institutionalised discrimination.
