The issue of the quota system has reached its shelf life. It is possibly the first issue that the people of Malaysia have to address.

We are not living in post-Merdeka, where commodities had helped us prosper.

We are not living in the industrial era, where manufacturing can pull us through.

Malaysians must reconsider what is most crucial for the country right now. And conventional wisdom or a little common sense will tell you that this is the era of the knowledge economy.

We need not only intelligent students; more importantly we need citizens who are able to think for both theirs and their country's best interest. And a university degree has no bearing on this.

The philosophy of ensuring there is a quota of bumiputra graduates does not augur well for a nation that is not competing with itself but in the global economy. We have to look over the whole education system, from pre-school to post-graduate.

I believe in this era of trade liberalisation where the role of the state is severely being curtailed and when national policies are made with a global paradigm in mind, the most important area that the government can play a very crucial role in is education (to prepare Malaysians and ultimately Malaysia to face the world confidently).

Therefore a relook at the education policy is most critical. The quota system must go.

And it will not be difficult if the philosophy of education in Malaysia is changed - a degree does not mean a passport to a good job.

If companies can be assured that a Malaysian teenager of 16, 17 or 18, having completed a sufficient number of years of formal education is intelligent enough to do certain tasks, then companies would be able to have their own programmes to train these new employees and change their policies on hiring.

If there were sufficient high quality technical, polytechnic and vocational schools, offering courses from engineering to accountancy and mechanics to painting, then there would not be too much pressure on tertiary education to supply the professional workforce of tomorrow.

If education were seen as life-long and not an end in itself, then demand for entry to universities right after finishing school would change.

If education were seen as a process to develop the ability and skill to think rationally then we would see different solutions.

If we had minimum wage then the emphasis on purely academic qualifications would change.

Here I must also say that both the academia and intellectuals of this country have been very disappointing for not putting forward concrete solutions or to start a debate to ensure Malaysia and its citizens remain a competitive nation.

I am of the opinion that we have a generation of leaders that are out of sync with what is needed in the modern economy and the modern world. They are addressing these issues with an archaic thinking that is probably 30 years old.

Our leaders are woefully lacking in ideas on solving a national problem. It is not a question of race, it's a question of the survival of the nation.