On the recent issue of the use of the word ‘Allah’ by Malaysian Christians, I wish to bring up certain points. On the government's side, I think it is completely over the top to ban Christian publications from using the word. It is completely and utterly inappropriate to limit the rights of people in a free nation.

However, I must add that on the Christian side of things, I find pangs of sanctimony and indeed there is hint of an intent to proselytise. Would it make any difference to use ‘Tuhan’ instead of ‘Allah’? The Christian camp knows very well that their use of the word will not rest well with the government, so why was the hornet's nest stirred?

Nevertheless, this whole issue only serves to demonstrate how far the government is out of touch with the minorities of this nation. The recent move to ban Christian books from Indonesia only serves to reinforce this. There was a time when these issues could be solved through the savvy of politicians through discourse and compromise.

Instead, due to incompetent people, we now air our dirty laundry for all the world to see. How can we be proud of the nation when such stupidity is demonstrated on a frequent basis? A simple disagreement over semantics becomes a full-blown dispute about religious freedom and the right to free speech.

A recent glimpse at how the American people are voting for their presidential candidates shows how far behind we are in our quality of democracy. There was recent mud-slinging about Barack Obama's ethnic background but this was immediately put down and the guilty parties quickly apologised.

The important difference between the Americans and Malaysians is that when the country's reputation is in jeopardy, every American will fall in line to protect the country despite their differences. The Americans will never let their country be known for racism and bigotry.

This may be a large conjecture indeed but from what I have observed from the antics of people of prominence in Malaysia, this is the only conclusion I can make. Petty party-serving and self- serving concerns far outweigh concern for the nation.

If we as citizens do not and cannot see Malaysia as an ideal and a nation that we must protect and sacrifice for, a nation to be put above race, religion and self, then there is something really rotten at the core of every single one of us. I, for one, am utterly ashamed that such a conclusion can be made at all.