After reading Shaukat Ali's letter , I could not resist writing in.

He seems to miss the point that most of those who emigrated were people earning average incomes, put off by the unfair system in our country in terms of education, employment and business.

The very rich who have made it do not wish to emigrate, and even if they do, they are welcome in almost any country. Most already have palatial homes in some favourite countries. The poor cannot do so unless they possess certain skills required by the host country.

Many actually 'jumped plane' i.e. bought return tickets but did not return until they had made enough money over a number of years.

Shaukat should first be able to emphathise with the feelings of those being discriminated against before he can understand why people emigrate and not just condemn them for being selfish and self-centred. If he is a beneficiary of the New Economic Policy or New Development Policy, it is

naturally difficult to see others' point of view, and be especially unwilling to give up the privileges.

My two daughters studied in a national school and they have had no problem mixing with other races. My elder daughter used to have an affinity for Indian friends while my younger towards Malay friends.

At Form 3-level, my younger daughter sensed the racial undertones when a few of her Malay friends were asked to apply to certain Mara colleges. She wondered why she could not.

After SPM, the divide became more obvious with the Matriculation (mainly for the Malays) and the STPM (mainly for non-Malays who are not planning to study overseas). The difference in standards - with the former being of one-year duration and the latter for two years and so on - has been acknowledged.

Ironically, it took more than two decades of educational policies biased towards national pride and national language (and initially advantageous towards Malay students) before the bumiputera students realised they were at a disadvantage because of their poor command of English.

If those who had emigrated for various reasons were to have stayed behind and served their fellow men by helping out the truly 'poor, destitute and disadvantaged' (to quote Shaukat), would it have made any difference?

With Parliament under the Barisan Nasional, what can good lecturers, teachers and other professionals - who were bypassed for promotions and working in less than conducive environments - do when their individual initiatives have been shot down by bureaucrats

and politicians?

Shaukat, obviously envious of some, seems to be barking up the wrong tree.