I have been reading most of the criticisms and innuendos against the life and career of Khairy Jamaluddin.

Now I would like to appeal to all to give him a chance and to try to understand and respect him as he is, and not make a case out of every twist and turn in his life and career just because he happens to be the son-in-law of our prime minister.

In the first instance, he is not just a graduate of Oxford University - he also holds a masters degree in political science from the London School of Economics.

Certainly he is a rare breed of Malay. Indeed, he is intelligent, brilliant, energetic and ambitious. The right material for most challenging jobs. Many hopes and opportunities await him. You need to have the same level of achievements before you are qualified to be jealous of him.

His detractors belong to three different categories.

The first category are the purists, who believe that if you are connected to somebody in authority than you have to subject yourself to all kinds of taboos in order not to jeopardise your principal patron.

In other words you must accept reverse discrimination as a way of life.

This thinking is certainly obsolete in a world that accepts transparency in exchange for taboos and superstitions; particularly when you have a personality who is a great achiever with the stature that enables him to stand on his own.

The second category appears to be the typical Malay, with rotten-hearted jealousy that has always tied down the Malay community to their traditional turf, both in terms of their economic well-being and mind-set.

While the world has changed so much, we certainly still see many Malays that have not progressed much. Yet they continue to blame other people instead of themselves for their backwardness, demanding equality when they lack the requisite merits.

Poor Khairy is certainly an easy prey for them to pot shot. This is not to mention the opposition parties who see this as a golden opportunity to undermine the prime minister and deny the country of one of its better candidates as a future leader.

The third category, sadly, is Umno Youth members themselves who are selfish and never understand that continued support for Umno depends on the type of leaders it's going to have in the future.

The voting public is rapidly outgrowing the calibre of Umno members in terms of their outlook, vision and needs.

The over-politicking, jealousies and mud-slinging among party members to protect their narrow vested interests is something that will continue to haunt Umno and seriously weaken the party.

Rhetoric, polemics, money politics and backbiting seem to be the order of the day. If this is allowed to continue it will be difficult for Umno to maintain its relevance in the fast changing environment that confronts us today.

My plea to all is that let us, as Malays and as Malaysians, not deny our country of strong candidates that dare to rise to the challenge of being a future leader.

Khairy fortunately, or unfortunately, happens to be the son-in-law of our prime minister. I swear that I would defend any other aspiring candidates with similar optimism and enthusiasm if they too, had similar credentials, be they the son of a rubber tapper or the son of a cobbler.

I will do that not for any reward but because it is right and noble to do so.