Being a Malaysian living in the United States for the last 24 years I can agree wholeheartedly with the content in the letter Overseas Chinese must adapt to the new world .

Overseas Chinese are insular and unwilling to integrate with their host countries. In US, this is true for all the fairly new immigrants who tend to gravitate to their ghettos. The Chinese in Flushing, New York, refused to learn English and adapt to American culture.

When a Chinese man get out of Flushing, he is a fish out of his Chinese elements — from his newspaper to his food. For example, when I asked most of my new immigrant friends how they celebrate Thanksgiving, I found out that most of them ignore this important American holiday. After all, to cook a 30-pound bird is rather grotesque and flies in the face of our sophisticated Chinese cuisine.

The Chinese cultural pride is without basis. Indeed we are a sophisticated people and have a long history and advanced civilisation. But that is history and it is nice to watch it on the History Channel.

I think it is time for Overseas Chinese to adapt to their host countries and amalgate the beautiful elements of their culture with that of their hosts. Our obsession with "to get rich is glorious", divides us from our host and we often get painted as that viley character Shylock. They don't call us Asian Jews for nothing and like the Jews we will always be persecuted when we insist on living in our ghettos or Chinatowns.

Why is it that you don't hear of too many Chinese writers, artists and people involved in the fine arts or is that just a bourgeois tendency. While travelling over China we continue to admire the many beautiful art forms of the Chinese even though it came down from the sword of an imperial master or emperor.

There are second generation Chinese who have adapted very well. Most of them are professionals and are involved in life in America. Witness the political prowess in California. Gary Locke is a Chinese governor in Washington. Maybe the American political system allows these Chinese to succeed while those in Southeast Asia are so prohibitive that one cannot even imagine a Chinese prime minister in Malaysia. Never in a million years. But if we are fully integrated with our Malay brothers, why not? But how far do we go to integrate?

I believe that is the puzzle that Malaysians are looking at and right now there are no simple answers as the Malay and Chinese culture are both strong and domineering culture. Is it the clash of civilisations here?