The event, dubbed “Ada apa dengan korupsi”, jointly organised by the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) Student Union and Universiti Malaya (UM) Student Union, was held in Nexus Bangsar South.

IIUM Student Union president Aliff Naif said the event was meant for university students to engage in a dialogue with the prime ministerial candidate.

“I am satisfied with the engagement session today. This event was held to allow the students to pose their questions directly to Anwar, regardless of how critical it is.

Proarte : The worrying part of the dialogue was the question which was asked which Anwar did not answer apparently because he had to rush off elsewhere. Malaysiakini: "Anwar was also asked how he would ensure the Malay voters that their rights would not be eroded for the non-Malays."

The shocking reality is that racism and entitlement is embedded in the mindset of Malays. The fact that the question was posed nonchalantly without any sense of shame is proof of this. I think Anwar had to conveniently leave because he could not answer the question because with his "All things to all men " political modus operandi, answering the question truthfully and rationally would be "spooking the Malays".

An intelligent Malay student in touch with the modern world and with a sense of equality and justice which Islam supposedly advocates, should be embarrassed with the question. The question itself shows what is seriously wrong with Malaysia and is a major cause of the problems we are facing such as corruption, racial division and religious intolerance.

What is "Reformasi" all about if the Malays are not told that the rights of other citizens of Malaysia are equal to their rights and that expecting more rights than other races is immoral. Anwar should tell the students that Islamophobia becomes a reality when Malay Muslims expect more rights than other races and religions.

Anwar should inform the students that the "New Malaysia" he is trying the build will not deliberately disadvantage any Non-Malay because as citizens they will be accorded equal rights as enshrined in the Constitution. The Constitutional "special privileges" for the Malays was not meant to derogate the rights of non-Malays but to redress a perceived imbalance at the time of Independence in 1957.

The Reid Commision who were tasked to formulate a draft Constitution had recommended that the 'privileges' for Malays should have a limited time frame of 15 years and then be reviewed. The aim was to do away with the notion of permanent 'privileges' which the Reid Commission felt uncomfortable with.

After more than 60 years of its application, the Malay "Privileges" wrongly termed "Rights", has been a signal failure, being breeding ground for massive corruption, creating a sense of entitlement leading to underachievement, a cause social division and brain drain of the best and brightest from Malaysia. The "New Malaysia" to be in line with "Reformasi" will address the problem of income inequality and will be based on need.

The B40 of all races, the majority of whom are Malay will benefit from financial, educational and housing assistance if they qualify. The notion of "Privileges for Malays Only" will be relegated to history because it has been counterproductive as evidenced by any index of social advancement when compared to our neighbours like Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The "New Malaysia" will regard all citizens who are born in Malaysia as "Bumiputera", to give the term its natural meaning of being "a son of the soil". The term Bumiputera applying to Malays and the natives of East Malaysia has served no purpose other than to divide the citizens of Malaysia and cause a sense of alienation and discrimination.

Indonesia, with the world's largest Muslim population has banned the term Pribumi and non-Pribumi introducing a new term Asli to apply to all natural born citizens regardless of race and religion.. Well, I hope Anwar was going to say the above to the student who touched on the question of "Malay Rights" before he got a chance to answer. Wishful thinking on my part?