First, I must complement and thank malaysiakini for its report on the false meritocracy claim by UM medical school and to Pang Hoong Chee for his comments. I cannot think of any other news agency in Malaysia that would have come out with such a report.

As a local university student, I am not surprised with the revelation. In fact, it is common knowledge among all students - both Malays and non-Malays - that two systems of evaluation are being used for admission, not only for medical schools but other schools as well.

This has resulted in suspicion and distrust among the different ethnic groups. Wonder why students of different ethnic groups can hardly mix on campus? With all kinds of suspicion, we can hardly open our heart to each other!

It is even more painful to learn that upon graduation, students with only second-class grades are approached by the university with offers of scholarships to further their study abroad, and not first-class students. These second-class students will later return to teach in local universities.

The government has made the wrong move in introducing the meritocracy system when it is not prepared to live up to it, and when the Malay community is not prepared to accept it.

What should have been done is to improve the existing affirmative action policy, by making it transparent and need-based instead of race-based.

Transparency is the key to our malaise. A nation cannot be built on a foundation of lies.