There has been much discussion over the letter by Abdul Hadi Ali . I fully agree with him for a common language in Malaysia. We all agreed that it should be Bahasa Melayu and proudly accepted and renamed it Bahasa Malaysia.

There were no questions asked on its status as the national language. We converted all English medium schools to Malay medium, while retaining the Chinese and Tamil schools for those who wanted them.

I myself went through school during the English medium days.

After 48 years of independence, have we achieved the level of racial integration that was intended?

Sad to say, but 'No'. I feel we are more racially polarised than before. The various communities have become more Malay, more Chinese and more Indian rather than becoming more Malaysian.

Our children mingle with those of their own kind. There is nothing in common between the various races and slowly but surely this will turn to suspicion and even hatred.

What has gone wrong with the noble aims of Bahasa Malaysia. It has now been reverted back to Bahasa Melayu and has failed to unite the people. The standard of English with our younger generation is so poor that we are losing out to neighbouring countries in trade and technology. Furthermore what we managed to achieve with English before is fast eroding and may be lost forever.

I agree with Hashim Shaari in re-establishing English medium schools. We are fortunate to be given a second chance with the present Globalisation and borderless world where English belongs to all not just the ' orang putih ' (white men).

Setting up standard English medium schools will greatly help in building a united, tolerant and progressive Malaysian society and ready to compete with the rest of the world. Time is running out. We are already one generation behind time. So let us start now before it is too late.