Further to the letter from GH Kok, I would like to make a few comments from an outsider's point of view. In my opinion, the greatest hurdle Malaysia has to overcome if it is to become an economic powerhouse is religion in politics. While I have never had any great respect for the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, he was right when he said that Islam is holding back Islamic nations.

Religion should always be a matter of personal choice, not something to be mandated by government. Malaysia will never progress significantly until there is a clear separation between religion and state. Malaysians must learn to accept that other people are equally entitled to choose the religion (if any) they wish to follow, and remove all legislation which limits the rights of individuals in this regard. GH Kok pointed to the examples in Europe. Note that all of the world's stable economies and governments practise religious freedom.

GH Kok also made reference to the importance of domestic markets to economic development. The common thread of virtually all of the developed nations is that they all employ an economic "safety net" for individuals which guarantees a minimum wage for workers, not by legislation, but by providing a level of social security which makes it virtually impossible for employers to obtain staff at below the minimum wage. This ensures that industry becomes high tech and efficient.

Another item which is common to all the developed nations is education. In most developed nations, education for a minimum of 10 years is compulsory and virtually free, and further education is also heavily subsidised to ensure that anyone from any socio-economic background has equal opportunity to develop to their full potential.

I would suggest that Malaysians should look to Australia as their example. Both countries have similar populations. Both are mostly primary producers. Australia earns the bulk of its export revenue from agriculture and mining, and manufacturing industries are mostly highly efficient "niche" industries supplying components to larger organisations.

We both have abundant supplies of cheap energy. In Australia it is gas, coal and sunlight, in Malaysia it is oil, gas and hydro-electricity. Although Australia is geographically much larger than Malaysia, in terms of productive land, Malaysia has more. 80 per cent of Australia is arid and virtually unproductive.

The only things preventing Malaysians from enjoying living standards comparable with Australia are the social and cultural differences mentioned above. The religious leaders will vehemently resist such changes, but it is important to remember that whilst Dr Mahathir may have laid out a lot of fibre optic cable, Allah is not on the phone yet.

These people do not speak for Him, but for themselves, and they are afraid of any diminution of their authority, as are most people of authority. Those who stand in the way, or try to, of liberation of ordinary people will ultimately pay the price. We are judged not on our words, but our deeds. You can praise Allah, or whatever deity you may believe in, much more effectively by doing good works, dealing honestly with others, and accepting responsibility to assist those most in need than by any amount of prayer.