I refer to the letter Certain positions in S'pore armed forced not for Malays by Dr Syed Alwi Ahmad which was in response to my letter .

I am glad that we agree on at least one point that the political masters in Singapore feel that Malays should not be in certain positions in the Singapore Armed Forces. However, I must disagree with Syed Alwi on the question of his support (which he is entitled to ) to the PAP establishment with regards that Malay Muslims in Singapore cannot be trusted.

During Malaysia's confrontation with Indonesia, the First Singapore Infantry Regiment served with distinction against the Indonesian paratroopers who were airdropped into Labis, Johor. They also served with distinction in Sabah, during the same Confrontation.

More than 50 percent of the regiment consisted of Malay Muslims. They had no qualms in killing (in self-defence) Indonesian Muslims.

To use the global 'ummah' argument to prevent Malays from joining the Singapore Armed Forces is farcical, and a misuse of Islamic theology. If that is the case, how is it that the Singapore Internal Security Department can use Malay Muslims to spy on other Singapore Malays?

If Singapore Malays are not severely discriminated against, how many permanent secretaries do they have in the higher echelons of the Singapore civil service? What happened to Abu Bakar Pawanchee, Singapore's first permanent representative to the United Nations? Why did he end up in the Malaysian civil service?

If Singapore is a free market, why do they have inspectors at the Causeway checking the petrol gauges of Singapore vehicles going into Malaysia? That seems to be the only occupation for Malays there apart from the security guards that Malays and Indians seem to fill in Singapore.

We all know that 'Mendaki' is a front of the PAP government and that the Association of Muslim Professionals is a recruiting ground for future PAP Malay MPs. I congratulate Syed Alwi on his pre-selection as a PAP candidate for the next general elections in Singapore.