A group of camouflaged environmentalists broke into a mink farm once and released all the animals. It was, they claimed, justice for the critters. Well, tell that to the minks: some of them dropped dead almost immediately.

Having been spoonfed from birth, the minks simply did not know how to adapt to their newfound freedom. Granted, their life in captivity was nothing more than a production line, inching towards the day when their luscious fur would find itself draped around the neck of some ugly socialite.

But appalling though this was, it was nothing compared to the bewilderment of sudden freedom. Some got caught in the barb wire surrounding the farm, others were discovered days later, mauled by dogs. Only a handful were found alive and returned to the farm.

A cautionary tale, indeed, for species who do not wish to become a mere footnote in the annals of natural history.

Indeed, a similar fate may befall the Malays if the special rights were to be revoked suddenly. Decades of spoonfeeding by the government have lulled our once proud race into complacency. To the extent that many of us may not be able to survive the heat of global competition.

Which is why we have to be cautious and pragmatic in calling for an end to those protectionist measures. Young Malays who have voiced strongly the need to dispose of these rights must realise that they are coming from a different level. Perhaps they forget that they are the top 20 percent of the entire Malay population in Malaysia. The creme de la creme who had benefitted from those same privileges which they now decry.

Yes, of course you're right. We Malays can no longer let ourselves remain sheltered and protected for eternity. Great change is coming, and if we do not prepare for it from now, we may just wither away well before the year 2020 turns the corner.

In this sense, Umno's little factions - and those still calling for an outmoded adherence to the special Malay rights - are doing us a grave injustice by trying to keep the cloak on us for a longer time yet.

For in their zest to protect us from the harsh elements, they may inadvertently be breeding us for our own extinction.

A middle path, then, is called for. The powers-that-be must first realise that the time has come for us to start shedding our coconut shells and face the world on our own two feet. They must make the people understand why a new level of exposure is necessary for our very survival.

At the same time, the seemingly "liberated" Malays should learn to temper their calls. My advice: go " balik kampung " and take a good look around. Are your relatives in the villages and small towns as ready as you are to compete successfully in an open environment? When many of them still lack the confidence to stand up for themselves, and the foresight to keep pushing the envelopes that surround them?

No doubt something must be done to better prepare our unfortunate race, while making amendments to our fellow citizens who have toiled beside us in developing this nation. But would opening the gates to supposed freedom in the dead of night do us any favours?

No.