Regarding the debate on the somewhat racially charged TV commercial about the African-American arriving in Malaysia (' TV3 vignette a storm in a teacup '), some Malaysians insist the ad does not berate African-Americans but only mocks the Malaysian family in the scenario.

In other words, it is not racist at all but good, clean fun.

But to those who believe that, I would challenge them to think outside the box and imagine Dr Mahathir Mohamad's reaction - not to mention all of Malaysia's reaction - if an American TV commercial appeared in the US about some lily-white guy coming home from a Malaysian vacation with a Malaysian bride at his side, causing fits and apoplexy in his home family.

Think objectively and realistically. How would Malaysians react?

At least I know how Malaysian university students would react. From my experience as a foreign student adviser at Southern Illinois University in the early 1980s, a time when the university enrolled over 1,000 Malaysians, they would respond as a community, robustly and vitriolically:

"See? White Americans are all racists."