A common and convenient response is also that Chinese businesses, such as banks, are not equal-opportunity employers as they mainly employ their own. There is truth in this, and it should not be occurring but all of this simply points to the sad state of affairs in the country. It is a reflection and result of the racial nature of governance in the country, yet this framing of the issue is conveniently ignored. 

Leaving aside the Chinese population, why are the Indians and other minorities (including those in Sabah and Sarawak) actively marginalised from GLCs and disproportionally under-represented? What explanation can be given, other than the obsession of the Malay political class with a misplaced belief in the need to protect the position of the Malays at the expense of all others? In this, the elite Malays are no different from the white supremacists in the US. 

Moreover, in these discussions with my Malay elite friends, there is almost always an inevitable need to point out that whilst the private sector may act in a racist way – Chinese, Malay and Indian companies are all complicit – it is the role of the state to correct this by introducing policies on equal opportunities and being the strongest advocate of racial equity.

It should not instead be the entity that practices the largest system of racism and act as the guardian of institutional racism. It should not be seeking to address the racism that is present in the private sector by institutionally enacting racist policies against minorities in all areas of the economy.

Ketuanan Melayu

What is unacceptable and which most of my Malay friends in the corporate world and even government ignore is this simple principle: in a multicultural society the majority – in this case, Malays - cannot use the instruments of the state to discriminate against other citizens who are the minorities. It cannot persistently and actively discriminate against other minorities and justify it for decades by saying that racism exists within the economically powerful non-Malay business communities.

There are other ways to correct that. It needs to be understood and clearly stated that for a multicultural society to exist harmoniously, the state has to view and treat all citizens as equals, and no one has special rights over another on racial or religious grounds. This is unconscionable and in that regard, Malaysia stands out as outlier, internationally. The question is: Does anyone in power care or does the idea of ketuanan Melayu overshadow basic moral values and ethics?

This fundamental principle is a value our political and business leaders seem oblivious to. It is thus incumbent on all citizens, especially the professional classes – led by Malays, hopefully – to hold them to this basic principle of governance. 

Another common refrain from elites is that articles like this and other efforts by people seeking to dismantle institutional racism are of little value as they are not addressing something called the “Malay heartland”, this mysterious monolithic group which apparently demands to preside over the large-scale institutional discrimination of non-Malays.

The accusation is that it is simply a case of ineffectual liberal elites talking to each other through the English language newspapers and that the real problem is with the orang kampung and that is where they should take their arguments for reform to. 

But this is in fact a cop-out and a convenient way of not taking responsibility or showing leadership. What better way to continue to be a beneficiary of an apartheid system than to say, “this has nothing to do with me” and it is the great unwashed masses in the kampongs that you need to talk to first?

But the guilty charge must be laid at the doorstep of the elite Malay class, given they are the ones who need to change their abuse of the system and, if needed, start to change the mindset of the “Malay heartland”.

Our efforts to dismantle institutional racism have to be directed toward them, so they are made to stand up and are counted. Otherwise, they will never be exposed for working to preserve what is perhaps the most institutionally racist scheme in the world apart from states like Israel.  

And as the world at large increasingly rejects these sorts of injustices being inflicted on minorities, Malaysia will find itself left behind in the scrap heap of regressive nation states. After all, even conservative Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia are reforming rapidly. Malaysia will find itself an outcast even in the Muslim world where changes are so rapid – witness our neighbour Indonesia and its pluralistic Pancasila values – and where the search for more progressive approaches is relentless.

Our Malay political elites on the other hand are instead relentless in their search for ways to take the county backward with racist policies, to actively discriminate against non-Malays for fear of having their rent-seeking privileges taken away. And that is the farce of the noble idea of Keluarga Malaysia.

What seems to have helped hold back this open discussion in the country, apart from the widely unproductive political sniping about racism – which is often racist in itself - is the fear of engaging in an honest conversation.

Decades of treating this as a “sensitive” subject have instilled fear in the non-Malays who have almost abdicated their citizenship to the Ketuanan Melayu, who in turn have run amok, sowing seeds of racism everywhere. 

Non-Malays need to reclaim their citizenship by speaking out constructively and openly. Even think tanks – especially those led by non-Malays – tread very carefully on this issue and invariably avoid the much-needed analysis to show how destructive it is to the economy and society at large.

Malay-led think tanks with liberal agendas such as IDEAS etc, conveniently avoid it and use the fig leave of democracy to call for reforms in the country, hardly ever mentioning the racist system that flourished within our so-called parliamentary democracy.   

This fear by the non-Malay has turned upright Malays – who should know better but have chosen to remain silent – into hypocrites and even closet racists. They have had to live with the trauma of knowing they are upholders of one of the most racist systems in the world and yet try and lead stand-up lives and on a daily basis look into the eyes of their non-Malay friends and fellow citizens, knowing that the discrimination they endure is not something they even understand.

This must be hard to live with and the only way to come to terms with it is to be in denial or find arguments to defend the indefensible. 

They have to live with the knowledge that the NEP now benefits them as elites, does not help the deserving poor Malays as promised, and it is they who are effectively discriminating and depriving their fellow Malays of their rights.

They thus know it goes against the teachings of Islam. They have to try and sleep with that bitter truth. This is in many ways the New Malay Dilemma and it has its roots firmly embedded in the decaying pot of institutional racism.

It has thus turned all Malaysians into racists and the clock is ticking on this time bomb. The only way to diffuse it is to openly acknowledge it, and create a narrative that allows for honest debate between all races and within a safe public space.

There are positive signs that this is beginning to happen and all of us need to take a single action every day to dismantle institutional racism in Malaysia. An honest conversation with an open mind is a good way to start. 

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CHANDRAN NAIR is the founder and CEO of Global Institute for Tomorrow and the author of “Dismantling Global White Privilege: Equity for a Post-Western World”.