It was a vindication of sorts for Subang Jaya state assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh, who was chastised for trying to register her daughter's race as 'Anak Malaysia'.

This was after Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, who was tasked on seeking feedback for Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50), said he found that young Malaysians prefer to be known as 'Bangsa Malaysia' in the next 30 years.

Khairy said young Malaysians wanted the wall separating races in the country to be demolished, based on a series of 20 dialogues on charting the country's future until 2050.

"Almost six years ago, when I gave birth to my firstborn and wanted to register her race as Anak Malaysia, BN poured scorn on our effort, accusing my husband and I of many incredulous things, including marginalising the Indians, wanting ethnic cleansing and many other vile allegations.

"This statement by Khairy is significant.

"Finally an admission from an Umno Minister that the BN policy of racial governance is irrelevant and disconnected from young Malaysians," she said in a statement today.

Yeoh said she hoped Khairy's statement was sincere and stressed that the future of Malaysia is not defined by race.

"As a minister in the ruling BN federal government, I trust that Khairy Jamaluddin is not merely indulging in rhetoric geared for the impending elections, but is now genuinely convicted that institutional racism in every form must be dismantled, beginning at the very top in Putrajaya.

"A 'Malaysian Malaysia' is the future that our nation deserves," said Yeoh, who is also Selangor state assembly speaker.