I am astonished by Chandra Muzaffar's letter . To my limited and humble knowledge, I feel Chandra has let many people down by his emotional arguments. Chandra has had to drag some non-related issues and connect it with the imperialistic intention of the US.

It is quite astonishing that Chandra has accused the sole superpower of wanting to colonise Malaysia by arm-twisting methods. I do not see the relevance of Anwar Ibrahim's medical condition - or the use of the ISA against the Kumpulan Militan Malaysia (KMM) - to the imperialistic intent of the US.

I basically question the accusation that the US even harbours the intention of invading Malaysia.

For an intellectual like Chandra to argue that Malaysia can be arm-twisted into participating in Iraq's re-development is belittling the magnanimous credibility of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahamd Badawi.

It is inconceivable to even think that the PM can be forced to accede to the demands of America so easily. I can only conclude that Chandra has had a bitter experience during his Keadilan days so much so that he has to use Anwar's medical condition issue as his punching bag.

His argument regarding the use of ISA is also baffling, and I can only deduce that he himself feels that his previous detention under the ISA as an activist is very much justified.

For all that I may say, Malaysia has already been invaded by the US. Not just by them but also by Japan and several European countries.

We have been drinking Coca Cola, eating McDonald's, driving Ford and wearing Levi's for so long that we even forget that they are American-made brands. Globalisation is the word of the day.

Malaysia should now look to 'invade' the US, Europe and the rest of the world. We should compete even more rigorously in the open economy. Malaysian cars must be of high quality, which is why the purchase of Lotus can only improve Proton's standing.

We must take advantage and move forward in the field of biotechnology which has been earmarked as a high potential growth area for Malaysia. However, we must also have good basic structure, which is education.

The quality of our graduates must be of the highest level and the recently announced 'double major' degrees is one step towards that direction. Our education policy has experienced too many drastic changes in such a short span of time; there needs to be continuity for continuity will breed success.

Chandra has been living too long in the past. Malaysia has to move forward. However, that does not mean that we should not learn from the past. But while it serves as a reminder, past glory means nothing when the future is bleak.

The US is the main trading partner of Malaysia, and Malaysia cannot afford to discard the economic benefits we gain from this partnership, Besides, I am eager to know which other economic partner can bring us much needed wealth, technology transfer and educational knowledge?

Our second biggest economic partner is Singapore. We already have had too many diplomatic clashes with both of our two main trading partners.

Malaysia has never fully exploited the resources and wealth that we have to bring us up to be on par with our two main economic partners. It is time that we forge new and unblemished links of understanding and cooperation with the US and Singapore.

We need not sacrifice our patriotism nor do we need to be the servants of the mighty Americans. But we can certainly maximise and gain from our friendship with the US for our own benefit.

Chandra, we are not living in the era of the Cold War anymore. In the struggle of a borderless world, Malaysia has to be fit to survive.