I read with great sadness the controversy arising from statements made with regards to the concept of Malays as the 'masters of the land'. It now appears to me that the problem began with the concept of 'Ketuanan Melayu'.

This concept was introduced around the time when Malaysia was working hard to achieve independence from the British. As we are all aware, the Malays were marginalised in the economic sector and perhaps to a large extent, the political side as well. The Malay leaders of the time tried to boost the spirit of the Malay community by introducing the concept of 'Ketuanan Melayu'.

They used the concept 'Ketuanan Melayu' as a rallying point - not as a tool to oppress the non- Malays. It was merely as a cry to prevent the Malays from drifting towards oblivion in an era when Malaysia was moving towards independence.

I am a son of a Malaysian career-diplomat. I have had the privilege of traveling around the world all my life. Based on the input I received from many others, racist concepts such as apartheid and others should not be compared to 'Ketuanan Melayu'.

While the other concepts ranging from ethnic cleansing to white supremacy are meant to dominate and wipe out the other races, 'Ketuanan Melayu' is only meant to help the Malays get onto an equal footing with the non-Malays. We can see today the barriers against non-Malays in Malaysia are slowly coming down as the Malays steadily climb up the ladder.

While our system might not be perfect, and rightfully we should criticise when there is a need. There is no need to throw mud across the table and certainly there is no need to use inflammatory words. Hopefully we can all steer our beloved Malaysia to a better future.