Though it is not unexpected, I still felt terribly disappointed when I recently read that Umno vice- president Muhyiddin Yassin wanted Asli to retract its 45% bumiputera equity ownership estimation.

He said the report was a challenge to the government's integrity and described it as irresponsible and 'rubbish'. He said the government should take action against Asli if it failed to retract the report; that Asli should also admit the report was wrong to prevent a polemic that would affect racial unity.

He further said: 'The report is rubbish and cannot be used. As a Malay, I am angry and I think it was done with malice. The report may have an agenda that aims at forming a polemic among those who believe the report to be true. They will definitely blame the government for revealing the wrong facts'.

I would expect a senior minister and someone who could one day be prime minister to be more credible than describing a report as 'rubbish' instead of refuting what was stated with facts and figures.

In the eyes of the public, a government's integrity, if any, is not something that can be claimed and by the people coerced into believing. Just as respect has to be earned, integrity is a result of years of good governance with transparency and accountability, which our present government sadly lacks.

Umno leaders' arrogance, as evident from Muhyiddin's statement that action should be taken against Asli if it failed to retract the report, seems to be the order of the day. Why not put our heads together to work towards an acceptable way of calculating the bumi equity percentage since it is so important to the country?

The public can also say that the government has an agenda for keeping secret certain vital facts and figures just so that it can continue to fool the people for years to come. We are now in information technology age, how much longer can Umno leaders rule with secrecy and threats?