'Umno is unshakeable,' said Najib Razak, our deputy prime minister recently. And the Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaludin said: 'A weak Umno would lead to various parties to push for demands and this could affect unity in the Barisan'.

Both are graduates from renowned British universities, the latter from Oxford, no less. But when they speak on the Umno platform, what difference does it make? Power, wealth and personal glory seem to get the better of their education.

Even Pak Lah is prone to this political hypocrisy in spite of his religious credentials. So what hope do we non-Malay, non-Barisan citizens have?

So far, Anwar Ibrahim is the only one who has been bold enough to speak of doing away with the NEP and the unfair racial policies that have come with it. To me, he is our only hope to be a catalyst of change towards a Malaysian Malaysia, even though this may not happen during my lifetime.

Racial politics has its inherent unfairness and inequalities, yet the leaders in Umno refuse to acknowledge this for fear of losing their grip on power. Privileges based on race are most unfair, not only because they discriminate, but also because of their unclear definition.

The all-important factor to qualify as a bumiputera has led to ridiculous cases of Indonesians, Filipinos and even Pakistanis having more privileges than third or fourth generation Chinese Malaysians or Indian Malaysians.

Unless Umno, as the leader of Barisan Nasional, reinvents itself, a time will come when more and more citizens will dissociate themselves from it.

All I am asking for, and I hope many will agree, is that aid be given to those really in need, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation. This will be the best criterion to show that our nation has come of age.