I refer to the letter Timeless masterpiece of the 'sensitive issue' by Confused White Guy. The trouble with lots of foreigners is they get information from one side and use that as carte blanche to hammer a country that does not conform to their idea of democracy and human rights.

Malaysia is not perfect and there is a hell of a lot of cronyism, nepotism and despicable behaviour amongst almost all Malaysian leaders. We are fed up with it to our teeth but there's very little we can do. Believe me, lots of Malays are leaving the country too. Others are staying well away from this place.

With regard to the huge companies that seem to hog all the headlines and the so-called government-linked companies (GLCs) and other corporations, who actually are these people? It would be unfair to say that GLCs equal Malay equity even though the head honcho is a Malay.

They say behind every successful man (politician, businessman, government servant) is a woman. Well, I would like to state here that behind every successful bumiputera (head honcho, minister, etc) there is a bunch of non-bumi people.

These Malays are proxies and the 'backroom boys' aren't dumb enough to bankroll them without expecting anything in return. The Malays are usually happy for the privilege of certain shares and commissions, the lion's share doesn't go to them. The non-bumi tycoons are laughing their way to the bank. So it works out fine for everybody.

We have groaning and moaning from all the races. Business is generally at a standstill and there are less goodies to go around. This is made worse by the fact that those who get whatever business there is do no subscribe to the idea of fair and equal distribution to all. Sometimes you can't blame them. They helped get the leaders into office and they are required to finance these same leaders to stay there in order to go on enjoying their extravagant lifestyles. This doesn't come cheap.

The bulk of the people who are not on this gravy train ride are, of course, not amused. No point in feeling sorry for themselves. They should learn to be part of the system. The first step is to invest in up-and-coming politicians. Think of it as horse-racing betting. Just bet on the right horse otherwise you would need to have a few sympathetic Westerner to listen to your sad story.

As for the NEP, too much fuss is being made about it. Just like state awards, it is a great way to make the bumis feel important and relevant. Do away with the NEP and all hell will be let loose because everybody will blame it for not getting anywhere in life. We don't need to be clever, we need to be wise. The Tunku and the British framers of the constitution are what I would call wise.