I refer to the letter Unspoken discrimination towards silent bumiputeras . The writer has chronicled many incidences where bumiputeras were apparently discriminated against by the Chinese in the private sector. He said this in response to the many letters condemning the recent MayBank policy of having a bumiputera quota.

The writer has failed to understand the collective resentment of the non-bumiputera community accumulated after more than 30 years of discriminative policies. Let's not even use the word affirmative action policy here as this term denotes a policy geared towards helping the minority and marginalised groups.

The bumis in the country are certainly not the minority and although they may claim that they are still marginalised, one doesn't have to look very far to see that this is not the case. The government, the judiciary, the armed forces, the police, the civil service and many other departments are controlled by the bumis. For anyone to claim that the bumis are still marginalised, well, that person must have some decayed particles lodged in his brain!

I am not disputing the fact that some Chinese-owned businesses in the private sector discriminate against bumis. Silent discrimination caused by market forces in a free market economy happens everywhere in the world and the only way to beat that is to improve oneself and keep striving.

It is, however, different if that discrimination is written in black and white, as is the case with the NEP and the recent MayBank ruling! No matter how hard you strive to improve or upgrade yourself, you are out of the game by virtue of the fact that you are from the wrong racial group.

I will end my letter with this excerpt from a letter written by a Chinese Malaysian woman who is living in Washington. Perhaps after reading this, Petronas Staff will have an understanding of why non-bumis reacted the way they did to the recent MayBank ruling in particular and the NEP in general.

I quote: 'If you want to say discrimination is here in the US, yes, of course it is. Can you name a country where it doesn't happen? But let me tell you one thing - if you go looking for it, you will find it. But in Malaysia, you don't have to go look for it because it seeks you out, slaps you in your face every which way you turn, and is sanctioned by the law!'