Like many others around the world, I had to sacrifice my sleep in the wee hours of the morning in order to watch the BBC's Talking Point interview with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Many issues were raised through the interaction with viewers by telephones and e-mails, but I was not the fortunate one to have given that once-a-life-time opportunity to interact with Dr Mahathir.

YSM, being a Chinese, is absolutely right when commenting on Dr Mahathir's instantaneous reference to the fact that there are also "Malays who drive the rich Chinese towkays in Malaysia" due to the social disparity in our country. I think YSM has missed what Dr Mahathir was driving at by interpreting that "being a driver is considered a second-class citizen for the Malays".

I know deep down inside Dr Mahathir's heart, what he meant was that such Malays were given the opportunity to better themselves and ended up being drivers or other menial occupations. He did not imply any malice. Absolutely, there is nothing wrong for being drivers as there are always other hidden benefits apart from their salaries!

Dr Mahathir, in his 22 years of reign, has repeatedly reminded the Malays to pull up their socks or they will lag behind other communities, as there will be a time when all these privileges will be withdrawn by the government. It's only a matter of time and we are now beginning to hear the voices of the young Malay intellectuals and elites who are highly educated with western and progressive values, that the Malay privileges should be withdrawn.

I felt a bit disappointed though that the Indians did not raise relevant issues with the prime minister when given the opportunity on air, but had preferred to delve on other matters. Yet, there was a lonely voice expressed through a malaysiakini letter by an Indian friend on why Dr Mahathir has ignored the plights of the Indians.

Not many people know that Dr Mahathir's eloquence in his spontaneous responses, especially when he is challenged or provoked during in many of his press conferences that I have been privileged to watch in my years of service with the government and private sector.

Dr Mahathir has an edge over many other leaders, given his ability to respond to difficult questions off the cuff. Dr Mahathir is a born orator with heaps of knowledge which are relevant with the times as he is a great reader and observer, just like Lee Kuan Yew when he was at his prime.

I hope YSM will agree with my few sens worth of comments to share with our readers through the courtesy of malaysiakini , our favourite online media owned and managed by Malaysian young media monguls. Kudos malaysiakini and Malaysia boleh, malaysiakini juga boleh!