This government would be foolish to ignore the please of the silent minority. Any ill-conceived policies that only benefit a segment of the population cannot prevail. First and foremost, the government must realise that every right-minded Malaysian would still want the New Economic Policy (NEP) to continue but not in its present form.

The NEP must adhere to its stated goals of eradicating poverty irrespective of race. It must be need-based and not race-based. There are still many pockets of poverty that exist across racial divides.

I have seen poor Malays, poor Indians and poor Chinese living only on two scanty meals a day. I have also seen poor Indian children, poor Chinese children and poor Malay children struggling for money to attend school. This serves to reinforce the perception that poverty does not respect race or creed. It is a common thread among many of our fellow Malaysians irrespective of race who sadly, still live on the poverty line.

Yes, they are the people who deserve to enjoy the fruits of the NEP, not the well-heeled rich Malays who are least deserving. How can the government, despite numerous protest from the housing fraternity, justify a policy of giving discounts to rich bumiputeras to buy high-end houses when a more appropriate policy would be to extend housing discounts for houses costing less than RM100,000 to all races?

To continue with such a racist, discriminatory policy would in effect mean that the non-Malays would have to subsidise the rich Malays for every purchase they make. Such a policy defies logic and is an abuse of the NEP. The NEP was never intended to help the rich Malays get richer. If the government cannot see the fallacy of such a policy, then we can only conclude that it has simply lost its moral right to govern.

The non-Malays have never ever objected to the government building mosques for their Muslim subjects. We accept that Islam is the official religion of our country but in return, we only ask for a little space for non-Muslims to practice their faiths. For every 10 mosques you build, give the Hindus one shrine, the Christians one church and the Buddhists one temple. Is that not a reasonable request?

If you give space for these faiths to worship, there would not be any need for illegal places of worship. If our leaders are true Muslims, they will never allow their religion to suppress followers of other religions. Islam has always allowed other religions to exist and flourish. History is resplendent with many examples. Modern Turkey is a living proof that Islam, Christianity and Judaism can exist side by side without any antagonism.

This government must review and reflect on their discriminatory polices which have marginalised a large section of the minority. It is not too late for them to realise that there are not only poor Malays, but also poor Indians and poor Chinese who also need help. Let us not forget they are also Malaysians. A government that ignores this reality is doing so at their own peril. The signs are already there. Don't let it reach a point of no redemption.