I refer to the recent news reports in which Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein Onn asked why there was a need for a foreigner to run Malaysia Airlines. He also asked whether or not there were no capable Malays or Malaysians capable of running the airline.

I would like to share my two cents worth on the issue. In the first place, I take offence that Hishammuddin still thinks that Malaysia is for the Malays only. I take offence that Merdeka is purely about Malays fighting for a cause in this country.

Except for the Orang Asli, all Malays, Chinese, Indians and others are visitors to this land. The only difference is that some came earlier than the others. So Hishammuddin, grow up. This is not a country for the Malays only.

On the issue of why a Malay cannot run MAS, I would like to remind him that it was a Malay who bankrupted Malaysia Airlines once before. It was a Malay who ordered the company's asset unbundling exercise (sounds nice except that it stripped MAS of all its aeroplanes).

It was a Malay who ran MAS after this exercise and yet it still could not get it right. It was all about Malays and their politics.

Hishammuddin, for God's sake and for the love of the country, please stop talking about Malays and address the issue as a Malaysian. For once, I would like to see equal opportunity for Malaysians to run MAS.

If you ask me, maybe someone should approach AirAsia's Tony Fernandez.