Little known fact

If I had any semblance of authority in the world I live in, I would nominate the following writer who goes by the name Colin Nathan an award. His letter here to Malaysikini so aptly and succinctly summarised to paint a picture of patriotic desparation. Some may brand him otherwise, but he could have written about Zimbabwe, Uganda, Indonesia or whatever basket-case of a country in this world we live in. But he chose Malaysia, the country he has called home, that his father has called home and I think a country he would like his children to inherit and to grow up in.

Read it here in it's original form
This is a small snippet from his original letter..

In 2004, global financial services firm Morgan Stanley issued a report that
estimated that over US$100 billion (RM360 billion) had been lost to Malay
patronage in the 20 years preceding 2003 (from 1984 to 2003). One economist
estimates that in the 36 years of its existence, the New Economic Policy has
been used to channel over one trillion ringgit to the Malay community through
ASN (Amanah Saham Malaysia), ASB (Amanah Saham Bumiputera) and other related
government schemes. Since 1970, the government has used the NEP to divert
education, employment and every other conceivable benefit to the Malay
Malaysians. These measures have largely been successful with all the top posts
in government-linked companies (GLCs), the government, universities,
public-listed companies and practically every single area that the government
has any control over being reserved for one race.

Asian Strategic and Leadership Institute’s estimate of 45% for bumi share of the
nation’s equity is opposed to the government's 18.9%, firstly, because the
equity value is calculated at par value. For example, if you hold 1,000 Maxis
shares of RM5 market value each, the government says that it is only worth RM250
as these shares have a par value of 25 sen each. If you owned a company with a
paid-up value of RM2 but conducted business worth millions of ringgit worth of
transactions, the government values that company at RM2.