In the days of colonialism, the Kadazans and other natives were well-treated. There was not much educational infrastructure no doubt, but for the initiated, tutorials for Senior Cambridge Exams were provided and if they got through, they were sent overseas on Colombo Plan Scholarships, or other scholarship facilities such as Natives Scholarships.

Mission schools were established in the rural areas and the medium of instruction was English. Many rural folk could speak, or the least understood, English. Now it's the reverse. The English standard has gone down the drain. University students can hardly construct a sinlge sentence without grammatical errors. It's a wonder if Vision 2020 can succeed without our people being equipped with the international language. Perhaps the Africans and the Chinese (China) are better off in English than us. In China, English is being taught at the kindergarten level, even in the rural areas.

For all intents and purposes, the NEP - and now the NDP - are solely designed for the Malays. Non-Malay bumiputeras are not included despite the rhetoric. For instance, how many Kadazans are offered APs, IPO shares and 30 percent ownerships in joint-ventures with foreign or non-Malay companies? The non-Malay bumis in Sarawak, too, suffer the same fate.

The Kadazans and the Sarawakian non-Malay natives are marginalised, worse off than during colonial times. One may argue that this is not true as evidenced by the number of non-Malay bumi graduates now. Fair enough, but if the colonials were allowed to continue their rule perhaps there would be more and better qualified (especially in English proficiency) non-Malay Bumis. Until not too long ago, non-Malay bumis were not even allowed to invest in Bank Rakyat.

If the federal government really cares about the non-Muslim bumis in Sabah and Sarawak, give them a grant of four billion, two billion for each state. These could be managed by the government not unlike the ASB, or run on a cooperative concept like Bank Rakyat. These shares can only be sold after 10 years depending on their performance. After 10 years, this fund could be worth many times in its initial capital.

It would also be much appreciated if federal government could allocate a one-off RM10 billion to Sabah and Sarawak for the non-Malay bumis in the two states. This could guarantee BN's prolonged rule in the two states.

Pak Lah, please hear this plea from you non-Malay brethren in Sabah and Sarawak.