I refer to the letter 'Social contract' already integrated into constitution .

This is by far the most direct and explicit comments written on the subject. As a ex-journalist, I felt that what Royal Professor Ungku Aziz had written on the subject matter was clear - that there is no such thing as a ‘social contract’.

As pointed out by the writer, the founding fathers of our country would have insisted that such an important ‘contract’ could not remain just as an implicit understanding or tacit consensus and ought to be enshrined in the constitution of the country when we achieved our independence.

If at all the ‘social contract’ meant the special rights of the Malays or the bumiputera, these are already spelled out clearly in the constitution. In view of that, the special position of the Malays/ bumiputera there are already in place.

Unless otherwise, this subject matter brought up recently aims to remind or refresh the memory of average Malaysians especially the younger generation and the non-Malays /non-bumiputera that the rights of the Malays/bumiputera were in fact borne out of an explicit social contract agreed upon by the leaders of the various races upon independence .

Having said that, now the pertinent question we are all confronted with since independence and taking into account a globalised reality is it not timely to take a closer look at the spirit of the ‘social contract’ in a broader sense of nation-building for the future?

Having expressed that, what does the younger generation, especially the Malays/bumiputera think of these rights?

Nation-building is not so much about retrospecting into the past but looking forward to see what is in store for the future generations and to jointly create the future before it is changed by the forces of globalisation and liberalisation.

What the younger generation think about their future and how we shape the future for them are two different topics. It is not a matter of right or wrong - it is a matter of survivability and adaptability .

Our forefathers had laid down the tenets of the consititution based on what they thought were the best for us and the future generations to come. After more than half-a-century, if at all the younger generation thinks that it is time to review the adaptability of the so called ‘spirit of the races’, then it is their choice.