IKS' letter Self-determination rise above poverty reflects the generally poor understanding of the many causes of poverty. It is typical of the English-educated urbanites with only very limited knowledge about complex realities of human societies.

Attributing poverty among Indians to only the poor command of English is certainly easy, but naive. It is like some journalists in Singapore attributing the rise of terrorism to Arabic education. Both are equally silly.

Mastery of English alone does not ensure one has all the answers to problems in the world. Only English chauvinists insolently and ignorantly think otherwise.

There are always many causes of poverty in all human societies. Poor governance of a country by corrupt and incompetent governments is one. Capitalist exploitation is another.

There are also historical factors, such as the legacy of British colonialism and its divide-and-rule policy; geographical factors, such as in the cases of Kelantan and Trengganu. Climate also contributes to poverty in other countries, such as in Africa.

If the knowledge of English is the sure and only way to prosperity, the logical conclusion is that there will be no beggars in Britain. It is absurb, isn't it ?

It is time for all monolingual English users in Malaysia and Singapore to learn the true meaning of humility. We are all living in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual societies which need mutual respect.