It is a scientifically accepted fact that the human race has its origins in Africa. It was only fairly recently, theorised to be between some 60,000 to 70,000 years ago, that the early humans began

the ‘Great Migration’, migrating out of Africa to the Middle East, onwards to Europe and Asia before going on to colonise the rest of the world.

Divided, the early humans succumbed to evolutionary pressure based on the environmental conditions of the continent they were living in, among others, and giving birth to the various different ethnic groups in the world today.

This opportunistic failure to recognise our common origins by the people in power has left this country in the dejected state that it is in today. We have groups in Malaysia who have embarked on a process of indoctrination, manipulating the Malays into believing that the Malay people just magically arose from the soil of the earth one fine day and as such, this land belongs to them.

Which is why policies, or ‘social contracts’ as they are preferred to be called these days, have to be formed to protect these rights. Perhaps not in those exact words but that is the essence of the message.

To achieve this, religion is the tool of choice and has been actively used to plant false and irrational messages, such as the recent spate of fatwa that have been issued. In Malaysia, I am uncertain as to in what context the term fatwa is used. I certainly hope that we have not descended to a state where it is defined as a decree of death.

That being said, whatever it may be, whether an opinion or a religious advice, the recent fatwa against 'tomboys' and yoga are troubling. It is quite obvious that those responsible for these fatwa are perpetuating a culture of intolerance through the use of fear and threat of damnation. This has successfully created a tribal mentality, one of 'them against us'.

If we had a proper education system that promoted self-thought and a questioning nature, it would only be natural for those schooled in such a system to find that such ideas are worthy of nothing. However, that would jeopardise the ‘grand vision’ and as such, our education system has been left largely undeveloped over the years to the point that it has become largely irrelevant in the modern world of today.

Naturally, anyone at the losing end of this bargain, is bound to be unhappy. This has been a problem brewing for as long as I can remember. Going into coffee shops or cabs, it is not uncommon to hear loud whispers and murmurs of the disgruntled grieving about how unfair life is.

Through no fault of their own, those who are born into a non-Malay or non-Muslim family are penalised, put at a disadvantage in many areas such as business, education and housing. The indoctrinated, having all semblance of rationale removed, fend them off and make threats against those who would dare question their rights.

Polarisation, segregation and racism ensues. And it will not stop there with a single generation; these sentiments will be passed from generation to generation to the point that it has become so blatantly obvious now.

For instance, some claim that the equity share of the bumputera is only 20 % at most. This is, of course, is a disputed figure, as several years ago, research was done which showed that the 30% equity had been not only been reached but had been exceeded for quite some time now.

Umno stepped in almost immediately to throw that figure out of the window, replacing it with a figure - one that is much lower, naturally. There was no need to elaborate on which aspects of the research was flawed or incorrect, no need to inform the public of how the new figure touted came about.

Giving the benefit of the doubt, assuming that after more than 40 years, the equity target has today indeed only reached 20%, a more pressing question to ask would be how effective these policies are? Forty years is long time, half a lifetime for most. For it to reach the 30% mark, it would take another 20 years, at least.

Some years back, that there was mention of these policies being ended or relaxed by 2020. It is obvious that this time frame is not going to be met if another 20 years is added. This should not be surprising since the original implementation was supposed to have been completed by the 1990s but as the target was not reached, it was extended further. In short, it does not look like it will ever end.

In businesses, every project undertaken has deadlines, with milestones leading into it. Properly run organisations will hold those involved accountable and responsible should the project fail. A post-mortem is likely to be conducted and there may then be a need to go back to the drawing board to iron out the flaws of the original project plan. Not so here.

It is instead transformed into a political, ethnic and religious issue. It would also be imperative to have the best candidate available to steward and spearhead the project to ensure its success. Sadly, even this is can become a problem as can be seen from the current shenanigan at PKNS.

How can the country remain hope competitive globally when we have such medieval selection criteria, where it is not the best qualified qualified person who will get the job but it is instead the person with the right skin color.

I am not suggesting that a Malay is not qualified to do the job. I am, however, suggesting that the pool of candidates is being artificially limited by placing factors such as ethnicity and religion in the selection process and consequently, it may not be the best candidate who gets the job.

However, to whose benefit is all this for really? It is certainly not to the benefit of the entire Malay race as only those in the right circles have benefited. Just look at the families of those in power and compare them against the conditions in which the rural Malays, by and large, the intended beneficiaries of these policies, are living.

Perhaps it is a misconception or mere coincidence, but with such a closed system where scrutiny is frowned upon by those in power, forgive the public for being a tad suspicious.