In the recently concluded 2009 Umno general assembly, several points need to be looked at:

1. Umno delegates, including newly-elected Hishamuddin Hussein trained their guns on Anwar Ibrahim for being a ‘traitor to Malay cause'. What a disappointment as Hishamuddin is presently the education minister who should not champion racial ideology. He as the education minister for Malaysian schoolchildren should be talking about inclusiveness rather than about race.

In short, a politician who is not scared of losing his position in a race-based party should rather talk more about inclusiveness than race. But then who is not scared of losing his position in a race-based party?

What is wrong with Anwar talking about inclusiveness? Where was Umno when Anwar Ibrahim was severely beaten in prison by the ex-IGP? Did they criticise their ex-president Dr Mahathir Mohamad when Mahathir said that Anwar could have inflicted the injuries on himself? Until today, Mahathir has not apologised for this. My stomach churned when the truth came out and my respect for Mahathir fell considerably.

Even doctors said that Anwar could have died. Where was Umno when this courageous Malaysian was willing to endure all sorts of abuse? Until today is still standing to fight for his ideals. He nearly died at the hands of the highest-ranking policeman in the country.

2. Some Umno delegates said that important university faculty positions should be occupied by Umno members and GLCs should be headed by Umno members, etc. Malaysia is headed for disaster if this was practiced. Try telling that to the US and Europe and they will laugh at this talk uncontrollably. Try doing this in the US and the people saying such things will be charged in court for discrimination. The US, though mired in a financial crisis presently due to greed in Wall Street, is still technologically strong. Why?

They practice meritocracy and the US has been welcoming immigrants from all over the world with brains. This is not true in Malaysia. If the best brains feel that they could not occupy certain positions because they do not belong to a certain party or they are of a certain race, they will look elsewhere, eg, the private sector. They could not work in an environment where so-and-so is the head of this and that because he/she is an Umno member, etc.

These best brains usually are the one who could have brought more glory and productivity to their country if they had worked for the government. In the West, the best brains would lead the corporations or a research centre. Those who are less capable know they should not compete for the top positions unless they are more capable. The more capable ones would be the ones who bring greater prosperity to the corporation, allowing the less capable to remain in the corporation and still draw a salary in this competitive world.

In Malaysia, we have all sorts of unwritten rules that the dean, the vice-chancellors, heads of GLCs, department heads etc. must be of certain race and from a certain party. Those who are more capable will certainly look elsewhere for employment.

3. It is still about race in the Umno assemblies. Only Third World countries still talk about racial politics and race-based parties and it looks like Malaysia is presently still a Third World country. If Anwar and Zaid Ibrahim say that all will be helped regardless of race, why would the Umno delegates want to single out Anwar and Zaid and call them traitors?

Smart politicians know that the way to a truly unified Malaysia is to promote the ideal that all citizens in a country are equal. Only then will her countrymen work optimally together and bring more prosperity to that country. However these smart politicians know they could not talk about inclusiveness in that racial party because they know if they do that, they will certainly lose their positions in that race-based party.

If Malaysia is still constrained by race and if Umno politicians still talk about race and race, Malaysia will not develop optimally because Malaysians are identified by race rather than by their nationality. Without any doubt, Malaysian efficiency and productivity would be less.

4. If Umno does not think like Anwar Ibrahim and Zaid Ibrahim, soon Umno will lose its usefulness. Anwar and Zaid are very brave to loudly declare that all Malaysian citizens should be given equal opportunities. Anwar and Zaid are the true protectors of the Malay for espousing that an equal Malaysia for all would bring out the best in everyone.

Anwar and Zaid all along said that the poor should be provided for regardless of race. If that is the case, what is there for Umno delegates to be concerned about?

5. Malaysia is still lucky to have oil but that luck will likely run out in 20 years' time when our oil exports cease and our oil reserves are probably used up. Oil reserves are a wasting asset, meaning that once drilled, you will not get back the oil. The economic dangers for Malaysia ahead are many. Unless Petronas knows that there are actually more oil reserves than the ordinary Malaysians know, Malaysia is headed for economic disaster as our government is presently reliant on oil and oil-related industries for about 50% of our revenue.

Where would Malaysia get the other half of her revenues 15-20 years from now? If the Umno delegates do not understand this, twenty years from now at the Umno assembly, they would ask, ‘What happened? Why were we talking about race twenty years ago when we had more pressing economic problems that we should have talked about? We should have talked about inclusiveness, about economic development and all Malaysians coming together to solve our country's problems.

‘Where did we go wrong?' If Petronas could show that Malaysia's oil reserves could last for another 500 years or 1,000 years, it is perhaps alright for Umno delegates to continue talking about race and race. If not, all Malaysians should work together to solve our problems. But then, even if our oil reserves could last for another 500 to 1,000 years (I am clearly daydreaming as this will not happen at all with certainty), should Umno delegates still talk about race?

6. Okay, Umno delegates were right when they said recently and in the past that Malays were in Malaysia first followed by the Chinese and the Indians. Malays then were very gracious hosts in allowing the early Chinese and Indians to settle in Malaysia some time ago. Umno delegates again talked about this social contract recently. While this is true historically, many later generations of Chinese and Indian immigrants who were born in Malaysia after Merdeka do not know what the social contract is all about when it was written in 1957.

Post-Merdeka born children did not negotiate the social contract when it was drafted. They were born in Malaysia and they do not know that their forefathers came to Malaysia decades ago or some centuries ago until after their birth when they begun to know how to read. When non- Malays were delivered in hospital rooms post-Merdeka, they did not know about this social contract that was conceived during the pre-Merdeka days.

Soon, they learn in school about race and hear Umno delegates wanting the post-Merdeka non-Malays to be subjected to the ‘social contract' for perhaps generations to come. Can someone tell me the exact meaning of social contract and Malay special rights?

The non-Malays thought naively that all citizens should be created equal. They are willing to give their all to the country. Until today, many Malaysians, including me and the Umno leaders, are totally bewildered by the meaning of the terms ‘social contract' and Malay special rights. Some Umno delegates likened Malay special rights to the NEP. But is that so? Nobody knows what Malay special rights are exactly in the Malaysian constitution as Malay special rights were not defined by the writers of the Malaysian constitution.

If Parliament could come up with a definition of the social contract and Malay special rights, then non-Malays could plan ahead for their economic and humane future. If they are not comfortable with that legislated definition and meaning, they could probably live elsewhere.

But then, are terms like social contract so important now when we are all Malaysians at this moment? Just because the post-Merdeka children and grandchildren of the Chinese and Indians were born not of the Malay race, they will continue be deemed by certain Umno delegates as threatening Malay special rights in future Umno assemblies.

How sad is this situation when Malaysians should just physically embrace themselves as Malaysians and not just shaking hands as Malays, Chinese and Indians. In some worse cases, there is a distance just because of race.

Why can't we all come together as one nation? Why is there a need to talk about this race threatening the another race? When racial tones and bias are removed, there will be no more such talk of this race threatening the another. It baffles me as there is no such threat in the first place as Malays form the majority in the country.

They have major political power so how could the Chinese and Indians threaten them? The Chinese and Indians did not enjoy any privileges of the NEP accorded to the Malays for about four decades. Many poor Chinese and Indians are left very far behind. Only when all Malaysians see themselves as Malaysians, will we stop talking about race.

Even our ex-PM Dr Mahathir is born to a Malay mother and an Indian father who migrated to Malaysia, if I am not mistaken. However, he is always talking about Malay rights though his father is Indian. I just could not understand this. Why is he not talking about Malaysian rights for all?

Tian Chua's forefathers came to Malaysia centuries ago and Dr Mahathir's father came to Malaysia only decades ago though it is true that his mother's forefathers came much earlier. Whose forefather had been here longer? But then, is there a need to compare ‘how long' in the first place when we are all Malaysians? Such comparisons are laughed at in the West as all citizens are equal under the law.

I have written enough. However, I am hoping for a day when Malaysians see themselves as Malaysians and not as Malays, Chinese and Indians, and all Malaysians will come together to solve the number one problem that we should pre-occupy ourselves with- our economy, and realise our higher potential as one nation regardless of race.