I wish to comment on the letter Emigrating from religious intolerance .

I disagree with the suggestion that Malaysians leaving Malaysia are doing so to escape religious persecution. Or that Malaysian are looking for a country with a better human rights record.

I feel the motives are purely financial and economical. The salaries and standard of living in Western countries are a lot higher than Malaysia. Many luxuries there are being denied to Malaysians such as trade union empowerment, minimum wage legislation, reasonable working hours, reasonable prices for housing and transportation and numerous others.

Why are houses and cars, for example, more expensive in Malaysia than in the UK and USA? Why are our salaries lower?

Also, I disagree that the government's NEP policies which mollycoddle bumiputeras are responsible for non-bumi emigration. Most Malays that I know have children working overseas.

Why? Simply because the graduate salary in Malaysia of RM1,400 is scaring away fresh graduates from working here. Even then, getting a job in the first place is difficult for bumis. Thousands of bumi grads are unemployed.

I met a groups of young bumis selling T-shirts at a pasar malam but they are actually university graduates. One of them said he is currently applying for a job in the UK.