Baki Minuddin's assertion that the Malays are still lagging behind the others in fields that need proactive action of the individuals involved has an element of truth. But the authorities are building more and more obstacles in these areas to ensure that the cake is divided and only a portion could be retained by the enterprising lot.

Over the years such an encroachment has become too obvious, leaving very few thriving enterprises solely in the hands of the minorities.

Logically, the highly protected community will lose its competitive edge. It is surprising that our leaders do not seem to understand this and continue with their policies that keep adding new fields to extend the protection for the bumiputeras.

This suits the political leaders who think of only the next general election. The division of the electoral constituencies with the type of politics and parties in the fray suggest that they are a smart lot! It is just an art of clinging to power and enjoying all the perks that come along.

That the majority becomes weak and feels that they can't compete on equal terms, despite having the best educational institutions and opportunities for themselves, is just a natural result of our flawed policies.

To make it worse, we have a special meaning for 'meritocracy' in education which leads many to really believe that it is indeed through real meritocracy that they are where they are.

Our leaders have been saved by the country's rich natural resources until now, and this has allowed a lot of maneuvering space for such experiments. But these resources might not be there sooner rather than later and the stark reality has to be faced.

My concern is that the stark reality might be too much to bear when the fantasy-filled journey is brought to an abrupt end by factors that are beyond the control of our national leaders.