I was surprised to find that my letter on personal experiences with university entrance has prompted lowbrow racial bashing and this compels me to clarify, if not my sake than for the sake of all who read this bastion of free speech.

The intention of my letter was to share my experience and to see if others shared similar experiences. While I commented that I believed my experience was the result of the NEP/NDP, it was meant to inform and not just to critic.

For the lack of transparent data, my many experiences are the closest approximation of facts. Whether one is for or against the NEP/NDP, bad experiences due to human weaknesses are real and this should not be acceptable.

What has surprised me is that my comments have been interpreted as bumi-bashing or as being pro non-bumi. I do not believe I have said anything against the bumiputeras - those are comments by others which I do not share.

That my objective revelation of facts has led to attacks reinforces my believe that the NEP/NDP is not the ultimate solution for our racial problems. In no way have I ever said that there is never ever a justification for affirmative action.

My believe is that there is a price - and a heavy price - for affirmative action and furthermore, few, especially those who benefit from it, are aware of how heavy that price is.

A simple calculation of our GDP versus Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore shows that that price is at least one to two times our annual GDP. This price is not only borne by those that are discriminated against but also by those that benefit from it in terms of living a life that is, at least in part, unreal and cannot last forever.

The longer this unreal state lasts, the further the compounding. This compounding of the price can be checked by the likes of our benign prime minister but ultimately benignancy is not a policy.

I sympathise with those that have benefitted from the NEP/NDP like Dr G Walter , but the bad news is that the price he pays for his progress is much higher than what he pays for his benefit.

His children's upward mobility has probably not even begun and won't begin unless the NEP/NDP is removed. I still believe that only a few could consciously want to benefit from a system that is unfair but this few could destroy us all if we are not careful.

And it is not people such as myself that pay the biggest price of the NEP/NDP. It is those that can least afford it. This is an unfortunate Darwinian fact of life. It appears to me that our PM is aware of it, and is consciously making exceptions to the rule.

The fact that we are a nation of compromise has led to our mediocrity. Our best STPM students gets 5As at best while the cream in neighbouring Singapore get 13As.

In other words, my advocacy for the removal of the NEP/NDP is for the benefit of all and the sooner it is done the better for all of us. I am not against the objectives of the NEP/NDP. In fact, I am trying to reinforce that objective by advocating its removal - it must be removed in order to achieve its objectives.

I do not believe there is an unlimited time for the NEP/NDP to outlive its usefulness. It is likely there will be a deadline. It may even be possible that it will be very soon. I am also very sure its alternative -meritocracy - is actually more relevant today already.

There is an expanding enlightened and intelligent group, which includes our PM, which believes that meritocracy can do more than the NEP/NDP. Otherwise, they would not be trying to infuse it into the system.

Those who challenge the status quo do not believe in Utopia. Those that blindly support a blunt instrument like the NEP/NDP do.