Johor Menteri Besar and Umno state chief Abdul Ghani Othman is out of his mind. He recently said the creation of a truly Malaysian race (Bangsa Malaysia) was nonsense and could lead to instability in Malaysia. He said he could not accept cultural equality between the Malays and the Chinese and Indian minorities.

He said the constitution of Malaysia clearly defined the country's races as Malays, Chinese and Indians. True, the Chinese and Indians have a notion of racial equality and racial harmony which is expressed as a three-thirds partnership - Malays, Chinese and Indians.

Malays, on the other hand, see the country as a partnership between two groups - natives (West Malaysian natives and East Malaysian natives) and non-natives (Chinese and Indians).

This is a sensitive issue. And it is best tackled with rationality and calmness, not racist attacks. The Chinese and Indians get very, very scared of native leaders condemning notions of true racial equality and harmony. Many of them feel like 'motherless children' in Malaysia.

Thus, native leaders must always assure Chinese and Indians that their rights as minorities in this country are upheld, and that they do not face oppression, discrimination and marginalisation.

As for meritocracy, it is the way forward. Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's late father Tun Abdul Razak, our beloved second prime minister, was all for it, and never intended to do away with it.

All he wanted was for native Malaysians to be given minimal forms of assistance in study loans and scholarships.

He had no intention to pamper native Malaysians from womb to tomb. This only happened during the 1980s, the era of fourth prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his late deputy Abdul Ghafar Baba. Both Tuns eventually regretted their generosity towards native Malaysians.

As for the national language Bahasa Malaysia, it is people like Ghani, who can make more Chinese and Indians love and embrace the Malaysian language as their language and heritage, by not scaring and intimidating them and making them feel like 'motherless children'.

Chinese and Indian Malaysians should never be intimidated. They should be encouraged and coaxed with love and care. They should be made to feel accepted as the native Malaysians' younger siblings in Bangsa Malaysia, the Malaysian family.