This reply is in response to NEP must be expanded by FN .

His statement, "Imagine if Malaysia has not adopted the New Economic Policy 35 years ago to help the Malays - a lot of us will still be living in the kampong and there will be no Malay businessman and contractors today".

That might have been true in 1960s and 1970s. However post that period, if that is true, then I must say I would be embarrassed to call myself a Malay because I would like to think that my race is capable of doing business, becoming professionals and contractors and be at par with every other race in the world, solely by our own intelligence and capabilities and not because we are spoon-fed by our government.

Worst, I sometimes wonder if God will hold us accountable for taking from the other races for our benefit the easy way. Of course, not all of us are guilty of this but I do wonder if it is in accordance with religious principles when my non-Malay friend pays more than I do for the same house when we earn the same salary.

I am sure the developers hike up prices for others to cater for our bumiputra discount (I don't expect them to make losses by offering a discount; if there is a discount, indicating that prices are marked up). Perhaps someone who is well-versed in religion can enlighten us? I mean, if we are talking about low-cost houses and basic needs, it is different - we should help across board but if we talking about easy ways to get comfortable, is that in accordance with Islam?

Is FN insulting us by saying that we need government assistance to succeed when other races can succeed on their own? Should we take pride in this?

I look at my non-Malay friends and marvel at the dedication and hard work they do. Not all, of course, but those who succeed. You see parents work hard to put their kids through private higher education which is not cheap. I also see some Malays who have excelled in their respective fields without expecting to be helped by the government. Congratulations to these individuals; you have proven that we are intelligent and hardworking enough to succeed without any external help from anyone.

Perhaps every race should plan to succeed without expecting the government's help. Or worst, without feeling envious of others' wealth. Which I think is the main grouse here - how come one race is richer than the other. Well, work hard and work smart - you too can succeed on your own.

After all, when you use government money, you are using taxpayers money. Perhaps the Inland Revenue Department can give us statistics on which race pays the most taxes in this country? And who are those owing the most in taxes?

Hopefully it will be that the 'sons of the soil' pay the most taxes and not expect 'immigrants' to do that. Or worst, I do hope that we 'sons of the soil' are not guilty of owing any tax money to the government (which looking at the number of Mara defaulters, I am not so certain).