Azly Rahman's column entitled Let's de-segregate our schools gave a prelude to his misconceptions about the education system in Malaysia. He proposed that 'all schools and educational institutions now catering to one particular race - be they Malay, Chinese, Tamil, Kadazan or Iban - must be integrated systematically and reorganised along the principles of multi-cultural education'.

His call implies that schools in Malaysia were forcefully segregated according racial lines similarly to the segregation policy as practised in the 1950s in America and up till the early 1990s in apartheid South Africa. Azly's picture is clearly inaccurate given the Malaysian scenario whereby parents have the choice of selecting the education system for their children.

Azly should be acknowledged for recognising that 'all forms of protectionist policies and strategies of racial containment must be abolished' However, while Azly acknowledged that the 'philosophy of education (ought) to be the nation's commitment to create a Bangsa Malaysia' it is self-contradictory when Azly cites the example of the Maktab Sains Rendah colleges.

If these colleges were always open to all races in Malaysia, how come then the need to introduce a 10 percent quota for the intake of non-bumiputera students beginning January 2004? Wouldn't this quota suggest that these colleges were always closed to non-bumiputeras in the past?

Azly called for the creation of a new breed of neo-bumiputera class. 'Bumiputera', as the term suggests, is based along racial lines in Malaysia whereby bumiputeras are given special privileges. Is Azly speaking about the creation of a master race?

As it is, we have ultra-rightist jingoists hollering about 'Ketuanan Melayu' over 'lain-lain kaum'. What many Malaysians fail to realise is that according to Article 153(7) of our Federal Constitution, this special position shall not operate to deprive the rights and privileges of any persons.

To give Azly the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he means acceptance of the 'Bangsa Malaysia' spirit whereby all of us Malaysians see ourselves as Malaysians first, in the same manner that Americans call themselves 'Americans' rather than identifying themselves by their race or their nationality.

Or perhaps he means as 'Rakyat Malaysia', a term which defines all our rights as Malaysian citizens as guaranteed by our Federal Constitution irrespective of our racial backgrounds?

Azly writes that we 'must work together to gradually but surely dismantle schools and educational institutions that perpetuate the hegemony of one race over others'. However, his commentary would appear more balanced if there had been an outright condemnation against Umno politicians at their recent AGM who threatened blood baths in 'defence' of their race.

It is not segregation in the education system in vernacular schools that has bred national divisions, and there certainly has not been any existence of segregation in Chinese or Tamil schools in Malaysia which deprived pupils from another races of enrolment.

It is not vernacular education but deviations in the implementation of the NEP that has exacerbated racial polarisation in this country.