I must respond to Pensioner's letter on the status of minorities in the UK compared with Malaysia.

When he mentions the position of schools, he conveniently forgets that out of the 35 new primary schools originally planned by the Malaysian Education Ministry, not one is a Chinese primary school.

In London, in the borough of Finchley, a Chinese school has been in existence for as far as I can recollect, the last 15 years. And for a smaller proportionate minority.

In the hey-day of Bahasa Malaysia, no Chinese characters were allowed on any street sign in Kuala Lumpur. Gerrard Street in Soho Chinatown has its Chinese characters written all over. It's no big deal.

And the point about naming a country with a significant minority politician - look no further than Colin Powell - American secretary of state who is black. The highest ranking Chinese Malaysian minister pales into insignificance.

I am sure readers can name a string of outstanding minority leaders in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Please let's not kid ourselves - Malaysia still has a long, long way to go.

And just in case some of you are tempted to say: 'Then why don't you go and stay there then?' my answer is this: Simply because Malaysia in my country, full stop. Racist policy or no racist policy.