I refer to the letter We're Malaysians so why the discrimination by Truly Malaysian. I believe the writer's equating Malaysia to apartheid South Africa or Zionist Israel as insulting. There is no comparison. While the world is witnessing unprecedented violence in the form of terrorism, war, genocide and the spread of nuclear weapons, Malaysians seem fortunate to have the privilege of arguing over petty issues.

The theory that bumiputeras are getting fat and rich while non-bumiputeras are getting poor and downtrodden is harebrained propaganda originating from outside of Malaysia. I live in Petaling Jaya and the constituency I vote in has a 70% non-bumiputra electorate. Yet, DAP lost and BN won. Why then are non-bumiputeras voting in a government which the writer claims is discriminating against them?

Obviously many non-bumiputeras are also getting fat and prosperous. The distribution of wealth in Malaysia is not discriminatory because it is based on ethnic race but rather because it is allocated according to the principles of CCN (corruption, cronyism and nepotism). In Malaysia, in order to get rich, you have to get into the 'inner circle'.

This 'inner circle' is not exclusively of one race only but is of many ethnic groups which have an understanding between them. This 'inner circle' comprises the ruling government, their families, their associates, their lobbyists and a select minority accepted because of their contributions which have led to the perpetuation of the system.

Poverty in Malaysia needs to be tackled with sincerity. We need a proper welfare system which guarantees government assistance regardless of political inclination. The poorest state in Malaysia is Kelantan, which is predominantly bumiputera. So, discrimination actually transcends both race and religion.

In Malaysia, it is not just a case of Malays discriminating against Chinese or the Chinese discriminating against Malays. Malays are discriminating against other Malays and non-Malays are also discriminating against other non-Malays.

Discrimination exists because we reward political allegiance with money. Thus, only with genuine democracy can we break the shackles of oppression and retake back the wealth which belongs to the majority but which has been hijacked by the ruling elite minority.

And this minority is representative of all ethnic groups so as to give a perceived sense of fairness while the rest of us Malaysians have to make do with low wages, long hours, difficulty in obtaining loans to buy a house or a car, difficulty in obtaining permits and licences to conduct business as well as hardships caused by the privatisation of healthcare and education.

Worst of all is the neglect of unfortunate Malaysians such as the handicapped, the sick and diseased, the unemployable (suffering from mental illnesses) and the elderly.