To be sure, not all Malays, perhaps not even a majority of the sharia-minded, approve of the acts of boorishness committed in the name of their faith.

FORBES: Canings, cows' heads and ethnoreligious apartheid.

He is voicing a very serious concern "that Malays are not competitive enough both in the local and global market place, " says economist Charles Santiago.

CNN: The New Malay Dilemma

These days, many argue that all the quotas and affirmative-action programmes to help the Malays are now not only obsolete, but counter-productive.

ECONOMIST: Early elections are a possibility

This is not the reason, however, that almost half of all Malays voted for Pas.

CNN: The Ties That Do Not Bind

Naturally Lim asserts they have, especially in pushing for a policy of integration not assimilation and in fighting to preserve the language, education and culture of non-Malays.

CNN: A Milder Lim Fights On