In my previous letter , I stated that the NEP is the result of the May 13 incident with a connotation that the former (NEP) could have prevented the latter (May 13).

Of course, there are many theories which could give rise to social revolutions. Dr LF Ng could well be right in his hypothesis that non-acceptance of the election results could have been one of them.

But then, one should go deeper into the collective psyche of the Malays in the ante-May 13 era in order to better understand the psycho-social dynamics of the incident.

The advent of political consciousness in Africa, the Indian subcontinent and especially Indonesia at the beginning of the last century had affected the Malays (in Malaya) and by 1950s, they were actually quite adept in their political bearings.

By then, they also realised the stark reality of their economic predicament, which, on their own, they had no means to overcome without the assistance of the government. But the colonist was more intent on reaping the economic potentials of its colonies and had less time for altruism.

As this reality sank into the core of their beings, fear set in. Now they were uncertain of their future. As the hardy non-bumiputeras were racing ahead in the education and economic fields due to their better socio-economic position, the Malays were still mired helplessly in the wilderness.

The fear that they would be stuck forever in such sorry state had become more real than ever. This was the scenario before Merdeka.

When independence was granted to Malaya in 1957 and subsequently the formation of Malaysia in 1963, the Malays were, in a sense, relieved that now, at least in theory, they had the political clout to configure their socio-economic destiny.

But nothing is cast in stone. As they found out later, their political supremacy, especially in prosperous states such as Selangor, Johor and Penang, were not assured. Results of the 1969 general elections were disputed in certain states.

Ng hypothesised that this could be the cause of the 1969 incident. Perhaps - and one of the many contributing factors, I suppose.

I do think it was the fear factor that weighted heavily on the occurrence of May 13, an unfortunate blot on the history of the nation.

Of course, there was a brief suspension of the Parliament following this incident much to the chagrin of Ng who had wanted it longer so that a thorough study of the possible causes could be undertaken.

The incident had sired a number of measures which the government-of-the-day believed could prevent a future recurrence. The NEP was one of them. Numerous bodies and agencies had also been created to help improve the Malays from then onwards.

And I also believe that gerrymandering is a major factor in this Malay-centric socio-economic engineering equation.