I read Shaukat Ali's Emigrant inferiority complex with great disappointment. He has passed very severe judgement on emigrants as if he has intimate knowledge of what made them move to another country, or that he has been a migrant himself.

Throughout history, people have migrated for a number of reasons. One would be to escape from threats of war, persecution, hunger, or discrimination. Another would be to seek greener pastures, a more amenable way of life or to fulfil some personal objectives and yes, perhaps even for economic reasons.

Ali pronounced with a disapproving voice on those 'economic' migrants as if they are low life forms. I think his prejudice is a bit hasty, overly harsh with just that excessive dash of vitriol and completely unjustified.

Emigrating is a personal choice if one is not a war refugee like Parameswara was, with the Javanese army of the Majapahit Empire hot on his Buddhist heels. Even the American Pilgrims made their own choice, and with the advantage of hindsight, the right one.

To emigrate is not a simple decision unless one is rather young and very adaptable, or comfortably well-off to retire in abundant comfort. The typical Malaysian who has emigrated would be a professional, from the Malaysian middle-class, in the late 30s to late 40s, and already reasonably well-established in career, society and social circles.

In migrating he or she would take along the spouse and a couple of children. The house and other not easily portable possessions would have to be disposed of or given away, sometimes at considerable losses. Loved pets and cherished artefacts would be grudgingly and broken- heartedly left behind.

Family members and dear friends of more than 20 to 35 years long would be farewell-ed, knowing that life without their close and constant presence and support would never be the same again.

But more significantly, he or she would be leaving behind 40 years of his/her life behind just to seek a new career abroad and, usually the principal reason, to enable their children to grow up and receive a good education within a more secure and fairer environment.

Are these migrants who have been prepared to sacrifice or risk all these, then be the sort of people who would suffer from the inferiority complex that Ali suspects them of?

As for the old fashioned bottom-line dollars and cents that Ali imputed as their base motives, the irony is that if one wants to make such a fortune, it would be in Malaysia that they would find it easier and more likely to succeed.

Indeed, not all migrants have succeeded in their new environment, with a few returning to Malaysia because they found the business prospects rather unlike good ol' Malaysia where the right 'key' can usually open the desired 'doors' of opportunity and profit.

Some had have even returned to accrue a tidy sum before dashing off abroad again, having preserved all along their 'permanent resident' visa or equivalent when they came back to Malaysia.

Yes, except for a few rather entrepreneurial individuals with deep pockets to venture into lucrative commercial enterprises in their new countries, the average Malaysian migrant has been happy enough settling down into middle-class comfort that they had already earned their way into earlier in Malaysia, but this time in a completely different environment that he or she prefers.

If Ali still wants to deceive himself with the belief that those Malaysians who complained about discrimination in obtaining places in local universities were cases of sour grapes even in the light of the recent widely publicised scandal of the 128 , I feel sorry for him. When one goes into self- denial mode, there is nothing others can do to help or inform.

If one is not (colour) blind, one should know what has been going on in Malaysia. How many non-Malays can ever dream of becoming head of a public department? How many non-Malays are university vice-chancellors? Can a non-Malay ever ascend to the post of the chief of the armed forces or the inspector-general of police?

Can a fourth generation Chinese Malaysian or a fifth generation Indian Malaysian ever hope to compete on equal terms with an Indonesian or Filipino Muslim migrant who has just been accorded Malaysian citizenship overnight?

Yet, in their new adopted countries, many have ascended to positions that they would never ever dreamed of attaining in Malaysia unless they had the correct political connections. Even with political connections, they know that in Malaysia they would always play second or third fiddle to the chosen.

Why then do these overseas Malaysians, or former Malaysians, write in to malaysiakini to tell about the good life they enjoy?

Firstly, they do so to advise others who may be less daring, to encourage them to make the move. Of course, there is no guarantee of success for that can only come to the person who can adapt to a new environment and is prepared to do so. But it is a worthwhile risk if one considers the future of one's children.

Secondly, some of those migrants are still Malaysians and hope that they can persuade the Malaysian government to discard the discriminatory practices that drove them from their homeland in the first place.

I personally doubt that they will succeed in this regard but like the intrepid adventurers they have been in migrating, they would always want to try the challenging.