I can see that the Article 11 group has made tremendous effort to bring the awareness on the rights guaranteed by the Federal Constitution in Malaysia. I participated in their recent forum held in Johor Baru.

Both of my Chinese parents converted to Islam before I was born. They gave me a Muslim name. This is not the religion of my choice. When I registered at the National Registration Department for my identity card, the officer in charge automatically put 'Islam' as my religion. He didn't even bother to ask me.

I've never practiced Islam in my entire life. Now if I want marry a Chinese girl, I need to ensure that she converts to Islam. I cannot marry a Malay girl, she is not from my culture. Can't the government understand my situation?

Religion is between an individual and God. What is important is the character and heart of a person. It doesn't matter now what the NRD put on my MyKad. I have begun to see the bigger picture of the whole issue.

I have given up hope. Maybe it's not time yet for Malaysians to practice true and basic democracy. I guess religion is more important to them.