Being a senior citizen of Malaysia, I feel insulted and humiliated by the outrageous sarcastic remarks expressed openly by LCH to prove genuine concern for the Chinese community. Don't get me wrong LCH, as I am also a Malaysian Chinese (I presume you are also another Malaysian citizen of Chinese origin), though I am a Muslim and I believe in the virtues of Islam and the hadiths .

LCH's critical remarks with reference to Dr Mahathir's interview with BBC's Talking Point live-interactive programme, in which the sensitive issue of 'second class citizen' was raised by one of our fellow Chinese viewers, has prompted malaysiakini to publish the controversial issue on a selected basis.

If I may add that perhaps LCH has lived in Malaysia long enough to conclude that this fundamental issue is of persistent concern to the Chinese community, though not every individual Chinese may share the same view with an open conscience and justice as a Malaysian citizen.

We do not deny the fact that there is disparity in so many things and in so many ways in the implementation of our government and social policies which needs to be addressed in a proper forum and political channel in the name of Malaysia's practice of guided democracy.

I am one of them - not part of the Malaysian Chinese circle of cronyism - with no special privileges, though I have been a Muslim of 25 years. On record, I have served the government for more than 34 years of dedicated service from the state to federal government. I went on to the prestigious and protected Malaysian Foreign Service, and yet I have retired as a poor and ordinary government servant.

I have neither a Datukship, nor given any contracts, despite my personal and political connections with those in the corridor of power. Do I regret and despise others and feel rejected as a citizen? Do I feel that I am a second or third class citizen due to the fact that I was not fortunate enough to get the best out of our political, social, economic and educational systems?

The answer is no and I quote the wise words of Philip Van Doren Stern published in Jacob Braude's Handbook of Stories for Toastmasters and Speakers that "the fight for freedom is an endless battle. Its victories are never final, its defeats are never permanent. Each generation must defend its heritage, for each seeming conquest gives rise to new forces that will attempt to substitute fresh means of oppression for the old. There can be no peace in a world of life and growth - every battle the fathers thought finished will have to be fought anew by their children if they wish to preserve and extend their freedom".

The way to do justice to the system is to respect the virtues of democracy and also to believe in our parliamentary system through the ballot boxes. We have witnessed success after success of the Barisan Nasional goverment for more than 46 years of their mandatory power given by the people, though we may not totally agreed to the manifestoes and systems of the ruling party through the implementations of their development and foreign policies.

In fairness to the government and our political leaders, we must also realise that it is virtually impossible to satisfy every individual, society or community in the context of our multiracial populace in Malaysia under the current political system. Having said that, even the most developed nations like the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and the EU countries are not free from such biased criticisms in their development projects and national strategies.

So why are we cracking our heads and expressing seditious statements and emotions on our national issues through media channels and on the street, that could be intelligently debated in Parliament instead? Why must we create emotions and despise our own prime minister and play along with the West, who has a long history of colonization attitudes toward under-developed and developing nations around the world?

Wake up LCH, show some respect to Dr Mahathir for the good deeds and contributions that he has given to Malaysia in his last 22 years of his reign and stop throwing "stones in our glass house that we live and belong together."

I believe the editorial of malaysiakini has been beseiged with heaps of letters from subscribers and readers, in response to so many critical and controversial issues raised by the outgoing Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on his final public relations tour of the region before he retires from office today.

Dr Mahathir's final diplomatic endeavours in the three most important regional forums, i.e. Asean Summit, Organisation of Islamic Conferences Summit and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, will be well documented and remembered by his friends and critics as legacies of his exemplary contribution to the world.

Thank you Dr Mahathir, you have again raised the Malaysian flag to the occasion, in order to ensure our continued sovereignty, no matter what others say about you will not change our minds and hearts about your esteemed and profound leadership for the past 22 years of your service to the nation.

As a friendly gesture to those who have been critical of Malaysia's success and failures under the leadership and government of Barisan Nasional, I would like to share this simple and yet meaningful philosophy from JB Priestley: "We should behave toward our country as women behave toward men they love. A loving wife will do anything for her husband except to stop criticizing and trying to improve him. We should cast the same affectionate but sharp glance at our country. We should love it, but also insist upon telling it all its faults. The noisy, empty 'patriotic', not the critic, is the dangerous citizen. The proper means of increasing the love we bear to our native country is to reside some time in a foreign one."

I also stand to reaffirm my impression that not all Malaysians, millions or otherwise, would like to take up permanent residency abroad. And there are those who have taken up foreign citizenship, who had regretted and expressed their desire to return to Malaysia.

This is not a sweeping statement, as our consular records in Wisma Putra will attest to the accuracy of the documentation of our own emigration dilemma, faced by our ex Malaysian citizens abroad particularly in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia.