I refer to the malaysiakini report, Khairy to Asli: Damage done .

I fail to understand why Khairy Jamaluddin said that the 'damage is done'. That statement is true in his case when he quite arrogantly refuse to apologise for making a racist statement that infuriated his BN colleagues not too long ago.

Yes, the damage is done when you no longer have the trust and goodwill of your other BN component parties for they will always perceive you as racist and champion for only your own kind.

I just simply can't comprehend that a simple report from Asli can have damaging consequences to the racial harmony of this country. Are the Malays angry with Asli? Or is it just the Malays from Umno who are annoyed and upset that their justification for the continuation of the New Economic Policy (NEP) is no longer relevant?

In the report, Khairy mentioned that Asli's findings were 'baseless'. How can that be? If it is done in a purely academic, non-partisan and non-biased manner, I am sure it is not baseless. If you truly want this issue to be resolved, then produce the methodology government researchers used to justify their 18.9% figure for the equity participation of the Malays as opposed to 45% figure by Asli.

Even better, show the public where Asli went wrong in a point-by-point rebuttal. I'm sure the so-called 'Fourth Floor blue-eyed boys' from Putrajaya can do this with their eyes closed.

My guess is that Khairy is afraid that if the report by Asli is true, then the NEP is no longer relevant. Mission accomplished! We (the Malays) have succeeded! Pak Lah can take the credit for a job well-done in helping the sons of soil achieve more than a 30% equity participation. On the other hand, that will also mean the end of Umno as the champion of the Malays! Horror of horrors!

I agree that the NEP has outlived its usefulness and now it is common knowledge that Umnoputras are the only ones that benefit from it. Let's not kid ourselves and deny what's so blatantly in-your-face kind of reality: How long will Umno exploit and abuse the NEP to enrich its cronies and politicians?

If the 45% figure is factually correct, then instead of anger, we should rejoice. We have many rich and wealthy Malays now. Let's move on from here and help the poor and marginalised regardless of race. Creating more opportunities for wealth-creation and improving the financial literacy amongst all Malaysians are so much better than squabbling over who got the figures right.

Any visionaries out there?