I think we Malaysians should stop calling the kettle black. I just cannot understand why our government leaders and some sections of the people would like to blame Singapore for our own shortcomings.

When Singapore decided that the 'tudung' could not be worn in their national schools due to uniformity, we criticised them for not respecting the sensitivities of minorities and human rights. But back in our own backyard, we are forcing the policewomen, both Muslim and non-Muslim, to don the "tudung" in national parades, citing uniformity as the reason.

The government leaders often cite that our little neighbour practises racist policies, like not permitting a Malay to hold high positions in its security forces. They conveniently forget that we also have put in place many racial policies, whether written or unwritten.

And while we always remind Singapore of how lucky they are to have our water supplied to them, we have also forgotten that the many Singaporean tourists who visit Malaysia all year long have enabled many businesses especially in the southern Peninsular to flourish. Without their support, these businesses would not have had the chance to prosper and might even have closed shop.

And the crooked bridge. It was Malaysia's idea to build the bridge, and it was also our decision to cancel the bridge project. And, of course, we are not to be blamed even though we are the ones who had clearly made the wrong decision from the start. Our tiny neighbour has to take the blame for our own terrible mistakes.

To sum up, Malaysians - be they leaders or the people, are the real hypocrites. Unless we are ready to admit our mistakes and identify our weaknesses, we will always be 'loser'.