BlueRider is one very annoying writer.

He is (he sounds like a he all right!) racist in demanding special rights remain forever and in telling non-Malays to be thankful to Malays for their generosity. He assumes non-Malays are always richer than Malays and they have to give a big chunk of their wealth to Malays.

I would tell him that he and Robert Mugabe deserve to be banished from this planet. I have nothing against a special position for the Malays. But I always have had problems with special rights for the Malays. Special rights is racism, blatant racism.

It is not what the late great Tun Abdul Razak ever wanted. Razak (I don't know about his son Najib, our deputy PM) was always fair-minded. He did not advocate special rights for Malays but a special position for Malays within Bangsa Malaysia.

He wanted a balance between the Malay and non-Malay, between indigenous Malaysian (such as BlueRider, from the looks of it) and those descended from immigrants (such as myself). His beloved Barisan Nasional concept was all about balance between opposing forces, such as Malay-non-Malay, male-female, rural-urban, development-environment, etc.

His NEP was not in any way for permanent quotas, subsidies and grants to the Malays. Razak hated spoilt brats. He was a taskmaster and disciplinarian. NEP assistance was for low-income Malays, who formed a very large portion of the Malays back then.

Once the low-income Malays became richer, the special assistance via the NEP would be phased out. Once there were Malays who could pay for themselves, the PM was to kick them off the gravy train. The quotas were not permanent. After 1990 they were to be scrapped.

It is sad that the real NEP did not survive Razak and his successor Tun Hussein Onn. The man who took over the leadership after the two Tuns turned his people into spoilt brats such as BlueRider. It was a little too late when he realised the folly of his ways.

I do not advocate the rags to riches Chinese story for the Malays. Most people need a social safety net. Those on a low income deserve a national minimum wage that should apply to poor people across the racial divide.

But everyone has the ability to strive to rise from servant to boss. Everyone has the ability to be a self-made person. Look at Datuk Azhar Mansor and Tan Sri P Ramlee.

Like the ancient Chinese and Indians, the Malays were once earth shakers in terms of discoveries. But over the centuries, the Malays have suffered a civilisation decline.

The Malay race, my eldest brothers in my Malaysian family, need to get themselves out of the rut they are in now. They really need help but not of the handout variety. Like the what the silat masters of old taught, the Malay race needs discipline and Spartan values.

I would advocate qualified meritocracy. This means the Malays will get a little bit more than non-Malays but not too much. Examples: reasonable discounts. Loans and subsidies that are not too big. No quotas. Low -income people will all get loans regardless of race but Malays will get a little bit more.

The bit more for the Malays is to show them that we respect their position as the indigenous Malaysians.

A very broad definition of the term Malay includes all people of Austronesian stock including our Orang Asli, the natives of Borneo and Asean countries, natives of Oceania, natives of the Americas, natives of Madagascar, eastern India and the hill tribes of China and Taiwan.

If one globalises the term Malay, one will find a pool of diverse and strong communities on par with the mighty ancient empires of the east. The Malay Malaysian was once strong, he can be strong again if he so chooses.