I am called to contribute to this discussion regarding the Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (Jawi) raid on a disco recently in Kuala Lumpur.

Sad will be the day when we the Malays ourselves would be driven out from this beautiful country of ours due to the intolerance of some of our own dear brethren. I was born and bred in a traditional but middle-class Malay family where the writings of Usman Awang are spoken of in the same breath as William Wordsworth.

My family enjoys watching 'My Fair Lady' as we do 'Ibu Mertuaku'. There was never a dichotomy between being a Muslim and being a Malay. It is all-encompassing and they do not clash with one another.

I, for one, am proud to have cultural roots in Hinduism and Buddhism but now, am fearful of the overwhelming one-mindedness of religious officials. I have seen how, too often, misguided people with good intentions (but misguided nevertheless) fail to see how their deeds actually turn away people from their cause instead of winning them over.

Coming to the UK to study (after having been to a Mara Junior Science College), I mixed with a lot of the Northern Irish. There is always a tinge of melancholy that one can sense when you've known enough of them long enough.

Here are a proud, witty, stoic and wonderful people but with the spectre of religious difference in the background. It's a sadness unspoken, and increasingly I feel the same for my beloved country and countrymen.

I am a Malaysian first and a Malay second. Being a Muslim is an issue too private and personal that it need not and should not be intruded into by the state. The Prophet PBUH advised us followers, 'Berusahalah kamu seperti kamu akan hidup selama-lamanya, dan beramallah kamu seperti kamu akan mati esok' .

I am comfortable enough with my religion and faith not to have some overzealous officials shove their doctrines down my throat. It did not work in Iran, it will not work in Malaysia. While I do not drink, I do not think any less of my Muslim friends who do, for one day they might be better people that I am now. Muslims reading this would understand what I'm saying - 'Iman itu ada pasang dan surutnya'.

I appreciate reading about the support from fellow Malaysians. The fight for the Muslim mind is one that we moderate Malays have to fight on our own turf. While migration is always an option for someone of my qualifications, I'd rather stay home - 'Hujan emas di negeri orang, hujan batu di negeri sendiri'.

It is my responsibility to fight this injustice and intolerance that is becoming prevalent among my race. I've traveled to Turkey and Andalucia (southern Spain) to see the remnants of the glorious Ottoman and Abbasid caliphates where the arts, science (and wine) and most importantly, tolerance flourished. It was a safe haven for the Jews when Europe was persecuting them.

What strikes me most whenever I hear the Friday sermons in some mosques in Malaysia are the references brimstone and hellfire, about us against them and cheap shots against the government. What a sad state of affairs. Very rarely does one hear about the lessons to be learnt from Islam's past. Islam Hadhari does have a predecessor.

I apologise for digressing somewhat from the original topic, but the issue of being a Muslim, Malay and Malaysian is increasingly becoming a complex one and many in my shoes feel that they have to be one more than the other.

But I do not feel this way at all. And I am not throwing in the towel yet for my beautiful Malaysia and fellow Malaysians. While I can easily stay move, I won't. Malaysia is doing well for now, but it can be so much better. So I'll stay. Wallahualam .