Malaysia may abolish its race- based quota system for public university places to avoid a "brain drain" of ethnic Chinese and Indians, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said. The system attracted controversy this year after hundreds of Chinese and Indians were denied entry to universities even though more than 7,000 places were vacant. Public universities reserve a 55 per cent quota for Bumiputeras Malays and other indigenous races, 35 per cent for Chinese and 10 per cent for Indians. Places are vacant because not enough qualified Malays have applied.