I refer to the letter Apology demanded from racist minister .

Well, this is all very interesting and quite a common thing in Malaysia. The interesting bit is why did the minister put his mouth in his foot, so to speak? And at such a public function? Did he wish to make small talk? Did he have some axe to grind with Malaysian Indians in particular, and chose to apply some crude, boorish remarks to a hapless lady student there as a way of relieving the pent-up stress in his mind?

We'll never know, will we?

He is a highly-educated person, who started off as a lecturer in UTM. He has a First Class Honours degree from Manchester, UK, in electrical engineering, then a Masters and finally a PhD from McGill University in Canada.

Yet he has this racist impulse in him - education has failed to make an imprint on his outlook and his manners, it seems.

Since his constituency is Rompin, Pahang, perhaps that is where he could feel some (political) pain. I would urge Dr Sheela Moorthy to write to the Umno, MCA and MIC branches in Pahang and their head offices.

But first document this incident by checking what avenues are available, in the US, to report racial incidents. Attach a copy of the US-Incident Sheet (if there is one), to avoid your complaint being disregarded as unimportant. I'm sure there are ample avenues there, as a First World nation.

And do send a copy to Lim Kit Siang(DAP), our vocal opposition member of Parliament, for his consideration. He could raise the issue, at the appropriate time, as it affects Indian Malaysian voters' sensibilities. Also alert the Member of Parliament for Ipoh Barat, M. Kula Segaran (DAP) who has taken issue with racist remarks by Umno MPs in Parliament in the past.

It is interesting to note there is a civil action against the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka on the inclusion of the word 'kling' in their dictionaries.

Dr J is no longer much in favour, me thinks, with the Abdullah Ahamad Badawi camp, and perhaps they are looking for a reason to drop him from the list of nominations for the next elections.This could be additional ammo to do so.

Don't take it to heart; there are worse things than crude racist remarks, in the whole spectrum of racism and bigotry. But from such an apparently intelligent and educated individual, my, my ...