You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that the current fiasco surrounding Dr Edmund Terence Gomez's leave rejection and subsequent resignation stems from the fact that he is not a bumiputera.

The lack of endorsement for his secondment to the UN position is nothing short of discrimination at its ugliest and more importantly a travesty against such a highly-acclaimed academician.

The underlying policy of 'form over substance' has been the hallmark of this nation's social and economic and now, academic foundations.

If this does not change, we will always have a first world infrastructure (or at least one perceived that way) but with a third world mentality.

To be Malaysia's first astronaut? Dream on non-bumis ...