The notion of protests and riots stemming from racial issues is not new. In 1969, it was the Chinese who rioted against the Malays among other reasons, to protest against the inequities caused by policies that push for Malay supremacy over all others in Malaysia. Now, we see the Indians protesting for similar causes. However, the Chinese seem to be curiously missing - in shape or form - within the context of the current protests.

Are they against the current protests or in support of the protests? Or simply indifferent to any of this since they already have a stronghold over Malaysia's economy and anything that takes attention away from them would be positive? Either way, the bigger question here is not a question of why aren't the Chinese involved in these protest rather when will the Chinese get involved. The bottom line is why do the minorities, specifically the Chinese and the Indians, continue to feel disenfranchised?

This is due to the intention of having the Malays own the country exclusively as reflected by the policies governing Malaysia since independence including the NEP. During the times of strong economic growth, the policies that favored the Malays which include discounted housing prices, special interest rate loans and the requirement to allocate a portion of management positions in public companies were tolerated by others since Malaysia's revenue pot continuously grew with sufficient resources to maintain a good quality of life for all races.

However, now as foreign competition from our neighboring giants is growing at an unprecedented pace, the pot has ceased to grow and the lower income class find themselves struggling to keep afloat. The affirmative action policies. although not the only cause of the situation, are certainly a contributing factor. The government's policy aimed at addressing the economic imbalances by giving concessions and subsidies to Malay businesses in many sectors has hampered the country's competitiveness, created a restrictive business environment and undermined investor confidence as well as leading to skill shortages and decelerating consumer spending.

Placing affirmative action aside, the other major issue that has contributed to the racial disharmony is the degree of corruption and the lack of accountability within government ranks. Time and again Malaysians have witnessed the mis-allocation of resources and the embezzlement of taxpayer's money into so called national industries like Proton, MAS and Perwaja Steel to name a few.

However, there has been no class action suits brought on these companies for the misuse of public funds. The primary reason for such failures in industry is due to the lack of public scrutiny and privileged government protection from competition. The lack of accountability and the absence of a check and balance in our political system has enabled those spearheading these ventures to walk away freely without any guilt.

We have become so accustomed to these anomalies that we take our freedom to exercise our rights for granted. So what happens next? Malaysians will have to take a more proactive stance in sculpting the future of their nation. Firstly, the ‘affirmative action’ policies deriving from the 1960’s NEP must be reevaluated specifically in terms of the division between racial lines rather than in terms of economic lines.

We need to look at Malaysians as a singular race rather than a set of distinct races with unique agendas. If we as Malaysians buy this, then let us be consistent and let all our socioeconomic policies be based on that tenet.