Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said as long as they put in efforts, any race in Malaysia will have a chance and other races should not criticise it.

There is no gain without pain. It is universally applicable and there should be no controversy over it.

But why similar words can always be heard from our leaders? Why are they keep repeating the same words?

I believe that we all know where the problem lies.

The poverty issue in Malaysia has been over racialised over the past few decades. Chinese people are always being labelled as rich people while Malays are poor.

As for the poverty problem of Indians, it is always being intentionally or unintentionally diluted or ignored.

The New Economic Policy (NEP) was made based on such thought.

Although the NEP is not totally useless, it brings negative impacts to the society, including "non-Bumiputra think they have lost their rights and been discriminated" as acknowledged by the "Government Transformation Programme Roadmap", while Bumiputra have generated a wealth disparity under the "two-speed economy".

The goal of the "Roadmap" is desirable. But as long as the Malay sovereignty and Bumiputra privileges are still being regarded as the supreme and unchallengeable sensitive areas, as long as there are still differences between Bumiputra and non-Bumiputra, non-Bumiputra's view will never be changed. The so-called inter-racial cooperation and unity in economy can only achieve the level of easing off conflicts and reducing discontentment, instead of truly changing the current situation.

We must admit that even in a rich country, differences between rich and poor remain. Also, it is undeniable that no matter how the government implements assimilation policies, there are still differences among different races, particularly in terms of culture. It is unchangeable by neither strong power nor strict law. And such cultural differences will always affect political, economic and social developments of different races.

Why Japanese and Jews are always good in making money no matter where they are? Why Chinese, even though they are being suppressed in some countries, can always perform better in economy compared to other races? Many economists are unable to answer the questions. And many political scientists and sociologists are unable to explain whether culture is playing a certain magic role here.

No matter what the answer is, we can only say that cultural differences have been started since the cradle era. Therefore, theoretically, differences can only be reduced when different races can learn how to mutually respect and learn each other's cultures. Only by doing so, they can understand what does it mean by "no pain, no gain"! (By LIM MUN FAH/Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/Sin Chew Daily)