Our former prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad once said that he would call spade a spade, and that he would not hesitate to criticise or condemn any nation that in his opinion had faltered.

In this vein, he had unhesitatingly criticise United States for their role in the Middle East, the Israelis in their conflict with the Palestine, the insurgents in the southern Thailand, and to a certain extent even Singapore whenever there was a need to find a bogeyman to justify our shortcomings.

So if our leaders has no hesitation in criticising everyone and sundry whenever they feel like it, what is the rationale for not been able to accept criticism from a foreign perspective?

Our leaders must accept the fact that the right to speak the truth is not the exclusive domain of our leaders alone. Others who view our system and our citizens been harshly treated have every right to voice their misgivings.

More so with Singapore, especially where the citizens of both countries have an embryonic, historical relationship. Most Singaporeans have relatives in Malaysia and vice versa. How the government treats its subject in Malaysia invariably is felt by the citizens of Singapore because of this close relationship.

It would be foolish for our leaders to deny that what Lee said is not true. By the act of denial our leaders are merely prolonging and accentuating the disunity that is currently prevailing in our country. However, Lee is guilty of one important omission.

The Chinese are not the only people being marginalised in this country. The Indians, the aborigines, and the rural Malays should also be included in the marginalised community. Quite obviously, the beneficiaries have been the elite - the politically connected that have been in power for the last 49 years.