I am astounded by the inconsistencies and warped logic in Awang Hitam’s column in the New Straits Times of Dec 22, ‘Modern day Apartheid?’

The columnist slams another article, which he cryptically references, for likening Malaysia’s New Economic Policy (NEP)-based pro-Malay economic policies to Apartheid. I agree that any equation of the two is untenable, and the reasons given by Awang Hitam are valid; that whites and non-whites were physically and forcibly segregated, non-whites’ mobility was restricted and basic liberties were denied, discrimination was institutionalised across all spheres of life.

In other words, racial discrimination under Apartheid was much more comprehensive, violent, oppressive and dehumanising than probably any other discriminatory policy of the post-World War II era.

It is thus dumbfounding and appalling for the author to suggest that under-representation of Malays in the private sector, and possible bias favouring non-Malays, constitutes Apartheid. Suddenly, all the criteria deployed to dispute labelling the NEP as Apartheid vanish, and the only thing that matters is that a minority group holds some advantage.

Do Malaysia’s minorities forcibly relocate the majority, or require the majority to carry pass books to travel to choice urban areas, or deny the majority the right to vote or own property?

Come on, what mischief is the columnist trying to pull here?

Warped logic is also employed in the assertion that the NEP is not discriminatory - because it was meant to achieve inter-ethnic parity and national unity. Yes, the policy serves these loftier purposes, and Malaysians would readily agree to them.

However, this does not in any way negate the fact that under the NEP, a vast array of policies granting privileged access or exclusive rights to bumiputeras has become established, involving ethnicity-based quotas, reservations or forms of preferential selection.

In the context of the overarching objective and national aspiration, they might be termed positive discrimination. But they are indisputably discriminatory. Let us just acknowledge this without fudging or getting heated.

In the spirit of honesty, as exhorted by the columnist, I hope he will in future adhere to higher standards of consistency and veracity.

LEE HWOK AUN is senior lecturer in development studies at Universiti Malaya.