I fully agree with the views as expressed by Charles Herctor in his letter Universities: Meritocracy only unfair .

What many parents and fair-minded Malaysians are objecting to is the government insisting they are practicing meritocracy but without being forthright and telling all Malaysians that other 'necessary qualifying factors' have already been factored into the university course selection process.

Why not call a spade a spade?

If the government will just say - as has been happening all these years since the NEP - that it is using our education policy to restructure society and that because the places for premier courses in public universities are limited, some bright students will not get the course of their choice.

Is this a new phenomenon?

Of course not. But it is a sad reflection that more than 34 years after the NEP, we're still grappling with this issue .

And we proclaim we want to be a center for world-class education.