COMMENT | Bumiputeraism works; bumiputeraism is justified. Those are the words of Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy), Mustapa Mohamed, who sought to clear up any confusion about the sale of bumiputera shares and companies; but he kept contradicting himself and muddled things further.

Despite 50 years of the New Economic Policy (NEP), Mustapa said that the bumiputera lagged behind in equity ownership, although the NEP was successful. He said the NEP had managed to “transform the bumiputera in the field of education”, but its success was not as huge as in the economic sector.

How do Mustapa and his peers measure bumiputera success in the field of education? Many bumiputera have few technical skills and are in low paying...