The book, Singapore Dilemma, by Lily Zubaidah Rahim, argues that the Malay community in Singapore has been marginalised by the People's Action Party (PAP) policy of making merit the criterion for advancement. [Click here for book review]

The New Straits Times, a leading establishment newspaper in Malaysia, said Zubaidah's book shattered the "myth" of meritocracy.

"Apart from discussing why the policy of meritocracy is not truly a fair and just system, she also argues how the PAP government uses the cultural deficit thesis to justify the marginalisation of Malays in Singapore," it said.

Meritocracy, which became the catch-cry for Singapore under former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and is credited with giving the nation the dynamism that has made it the leading economy in Southeast Asia, is a belittled word in Malaysia. It is seen as a threat by Malaysian Chinese to the position the Malays have established for themselves in Malaysia.

The introduction of meritocracy was among proposals recently put forward by Suqiu, a Chinese community group, which also called for an end to the Malays' special privileges.

In an attack on Suqiu last week, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said meritocracy was used "by immigrant communities" as an excuse to oppress native people and rob them of their rights "as seen in an immediate neighbouring country and other nations".

"We've seen how natives of the land become marginalised, impoverished and have no role in government in the name of so-called equal rights and meritocracy," he said in an obvious reference to Singapore.

The leading Malay-language newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, carried a letter from a reader who said the book was a warning that if meritocracy was introduced in Malaysia it would lead to Malaysian Malays being marginalised like members of their race in Singapore. He said Suqiu's proposals were aimed towards this end and urged Malays not to let it happen.

Malaysian interest in the book comes at a time when Suqiu is coming under fierce attack from Malay groups and the Prime Minister to the alarm of many Chinese, who fear it will inflame racial animosities.

Last week, an influential Malay student federation issued a list of 100 demands in response to Suqiu's proposals. While Suqiu wants an end to affirmative action programmes for Malays, the student federation's demands are aimed at enhancing the Malay privileges and ensuring the Prime Minister will always be a Malay.

The affirmative action schemes were introduced after race riots in 1969 in an attempt to assuage Malay discontent over the wealth gap between the economically dominant Chinese and the Malays and to calm fears the majority race might lose its political advantage. They include quotas that allow Malays to enter universities and obtain government jobs ahead of more academically qualified Chinese.