Given all this, one would think that society at large, including the state’s institutions, would be well aware of the mental stress being imposed on this young generation and their parents, and thus understand they have an obligation to assist them in all ways possible.

However, these stressors are just the tip of an iceberg. The larger truth is hidden under the superficially calm yet cruel waters, the silence of unseen forces gathered under the waterline. This iceberg is only getting larger with every passing year, and Malaysia is steering right for it.

This is the system of apartheid being inflicted upon even the children of this country, where the racial majority of Malaysia (termed Bumiputras) are given rights and privileges through affirmative action policies that the other racial groups – Malaysian-Chinese, Malaysian-Indian, and other minorities, including certain indigenous peoples – are not. It occurs at all the levels of the education system: an example is the 90 per cent quota for Bumiputras on the pre-university matriculation course for 16- to 17-year-olds, which almost guarantees a coveted placement at university – despite many of these students attaining average grades.

What is the cause of this large-scale systemic racial discrimination? It is the wholly racist nature of the education system, which essentially discriminates against non-Malay children while favouring Malay children.

The sad truth is that innocent Malay children suffer from this system, too: by virtue of having privileges that others do not. Thus the more disenfranchised from lower-income families become victims of being taught in bad schools where standards are low – because it appears the system believes it does not matter anyway – not believing that gaining access to the best education is critical. They are thus less able to compete and grow up believing they are entitled. The sense of entitlement applies across the economic spectrum too, this is the perverse nature of discriminatory policies.

Institutional racism

So, what is the cause of the large-scale discrimination that every Malaysian knows about but only whispers of? It has nothing to do with how affirmative action should be used to benefit poor Malays, but everything to do with a deep psychosis at the heart of the political and economic system – institutional racism.

Racism which discriminates against children who have their future ahead of them and cannot fight back is a sickness, and the political architects and perpetuators of this system should be exposed and be ashamed of themselves. So should all the well-heeled beneficiaries of such a system, especially the Malay political and business elite who remain silent at this great injustice.

In all the stages of the journey to get a university education, the discrimination of children based on race is the determining factor. This is the simple and vulgar way in which it works:

All non-Malays must attain grades that are on average two or three times better than a Malay student to gain access to a local university or to obtain a scholarship. Of course, this does not mean there aren’t many smart and hardworking Malay children who attain excellent grades and are thus deserving of the slots. But it is also widely known that the grading system can be manipulated to lower the passing rate, with the primary goal of allowing a larger proportion of the Malay majority to pass. This is a core factor that has eroded education standards across the country and has had a large scale detrimental impact on the job market due to the poor quality of entrants.

As mentioned before, the problem is the race-based quota system which dedicates typically just 10-20 per cent of spaces to non-Malays. Yet from the top institutions of the country to corporate leaders, there is silence. It is simply accepted as the norm and no one is held accountable for one of the most racist education systems in the world. With no leadership or unified voice on this matter, the country is headed quietly for the iceberg, with the lives of young Malaysians – especially those from poorer backgrounds – being dismantled or destroyed in the process.

After all, young Malay children also have innate potential that they should be allowed to unleash, but through healthy and fair competition. But this becomes a challenge because the system assures them a much easier path to success – irrespective of their grades or economic status. Thus it is only natural that they feel they do not have to work as hard, given it is not a survival imperative for them, as it is for a non-Malay.

When these Malay students achieve above average grades – four to five A-grades – then the floodgates of Malay privilege will open for them. These include fast tracks into the best universities in the country, scholarships to the best universities in the world, and on their return, guaranteed jobs into the government or the Malay-dominated Government Linked Company (GLC) ecosystem. Their future is assured. But the sad thing is that the more privileged their background the easier their path, leaving in their wake all the others and tragically the poor Malays who are already at a disadvantage given the bad quality education they receive.

If you are non-Malay, your nightmare however begins now, unless you are wealthy; and that is a minority. If you attain seven A-grades or above, you are still not guaranteed a place into the top local universities, because your Malay classmates with three A-grades will be given priority, even if they are the children of a highly paid executive.

As a non-Malay your parents and even extended family will now have to huddle to decide how to give you a proper chance in life because – despite your hard work and excellent results – the racist system will do all it can to suppress your potential. The racist system seeks to deny them their basic rights so that it can continue with its supremacist policies. It wants non-Malay parents to be bled of their savings and if they manage to scrimp and save to pay for the more expensive education options, the racist system will make it hard for their children to get jobs within government departments and the GLC gravy laced ecosystem, while slots will remain reserved for Malays, who did not do as well yet went to the best universities, funded by the state. They then come back to jobs where they will typically not have to compete with non-Malays in a system devoid of meritocracy and steeped in racism.

Yet the non-Malay will find a way and will emerge even stronger and better. In a perverse way, by being stoic and tolerating blatant racism as a child they have inbuilt resilience and a greater chance to succeed as a professional. They are helping to build the country into what it is. They fortify the country against the risks arising from the widespread lack of meritocracy in key institutions, which allows many Malays to reach elevated positions and earn shockingly high salaries without competing with non-Malays. Despite this the discriminated non-Malays become the economic backbone of the country.

Stuck in the swamp of privilege

And what of the Malay students? They too are sadly victims of this racism, although beneficiaries at the same time. Why? Institutional racism is a sickness and they have been infected by being ensnared even as children. In this way, they are also innocently being indoctrinated to become racists. As adults they learn to defend their privileges, and this helps to further prop up institutional racism. But more troubling, they are being diminished by these very privileges, which do not allow them to fulfil their potential. Their value systems are stuck in the swamp of racism and privilege. Many rise to elevated positions not even to notice it any more. The gravy apparently too sweet to allow for values to get in the way of enjoying the good life.

These innocent Malay children are being taught the language of inferiority, prejudice and race resentment by their Malay elders. This is a terrible disservice to them and their undoubted potential, one that can only be realised if they are treated as equals, given access to good education and made to compete. Which they surely can. The excuse of affirmative action is a lame one. To tell them that they are inferior and unable to compete with others is to saddle them with injuries that they will carry for life – the architects of this racist system are not their allies, they are in fact their adversaries.

Malaysians have come to accept that the racist politicians who lead the country will never speak up against this sort of blatant discrimination against children in the education system. This is an acceptance of the status quo that should be rejected and challenged. At the same time the silence from the so-called well-educated and globally attuned CEOs of the GLCs is puzzling. As major employers they should be fully aware that this is morally wrong and more importantly appreciate that it will lower standards and affect the economy in a multitude of ways. Their silence is inexplicable and an indictment of the values systems of the business community in the country. As the ESG bandwagon has begun to gain traction in corporate Malaysia, it is time that all stakeholders become aware that the “Social” of ESG in Malaysia is the elephant in the room, and it is centred around widespread institutional racism. No ESG report in the country, supposedly prepared by independent auditors, dares to raise this question, sweeping it under the carpet and making a mockery of this whole process and relegating it to a rubber stamp.

And finally, there are many who use weak arguments that raising this issue is equivalent to taking an anti-Malay position because it seeks to reverse affirmative action programmes. They need reminding that a country which discriminates against its children based on race, has no values. In the 21st century this scale of institutional racial discrimination simply cannot be allowed to persist. When racial groups are discriminated against by the very institutions of the country they call home, social unrest is likely to occur, as we have seen in the United States with the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020. Malaysia ignores entrenched institutional racism and the plight of its children at its peril.

Chandran Nair is the founder of the Global Institute for Tomorrow and member of the Club of Rome. He is also the author of ‘Dismantling Global White Privilege: Equity for a Post-Western World’ and ‘The Sustainable State: The Future of Government, Economy and Society’.