When Dr Mahathir Mohamad was in office, he used to berate the Malays for being lazy, and afraid of change for the betterment of their race and religion.

He wept at an Umno annual general meeting saying that the mindset of the Malays had not changed after 30 years of government preferences for jobs, contracts and businesses.

What Mahathir has not told the Malays is that they are afraid of competition. Hence, from university entrances to job quotas to government business contracts, that are quite happy not to compete with the other Malaysians.

The Malays will not improve as long as this favouritism remains in place. The very best in a race cannot be developed if it is shielded and spoon fed forever.

In politics and within their own party, Umno, the leaders are afraid of competition. They have passed rulings to protect themselves so as to remain in office without contest. The supreme council of Umno has ruled that the top two party positions are sacrosanct, and hence the president and deputy president must be returned unopposed.

Soon the Umno Wanita chief, the Umno Youth head and the three vice-presidents will also be decreed to be 'no contests'.

I say good on you Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah for having the courage to challenge the president's post. Even though Razaleigh did not obtain the necessary nominations, it proves that there are some Malays who are fed up with this non-competitive culture.