I refer to Manjit Bhatia's article Rock the boat? Not Malaysians, no sir... .

It is interesting how an outsider can speak about my home country as if he knows it better than any one of us. This is not to say Manjit Bhatia is not allowed to comment, of course, bearing in mind he is an academician and a writer. Any criticisms launched against my country should always be taken in constructive light because surely Manjit cares enough for this country to write so extensively on it.

However, I have decided to give my two cents worth as a rakyat of Malaysia - a position I would like to see rival and level Manjit's.

I agree with Nathaniel Tan's letter . I am not fond of the government, neither am I an opposition member. I am just an ordinary citizen, earning a decent pay and living life under the current circumstances the best I can.

All this does not mean my country is doomed to hell because the rakyat is politically apathetic. It does not mean our votes will be wasted on the opposition simply because BN has gerrymandered enough to guarantee wins during the general elections in the country. What matters is that there are people who care enough to read malaysiakini , attend DAP forums, read a PKR leaflet or eat a PAS mooncake.

What matters is that people are willing to educate others and share common histories. What matters most is that many aspire and work towards moving forward.

The people matter the most - more than anything. Let's strip away political theories and the level of education that one might use as a benchmark - the kampong man has little thought for those. Considering the very basic as to what the rakyat wants, I would say we want a credible government, a just system and a good standard of living. We want fellow Malaysians to treat everybody like a brother and a sister.

I don't think Tan naively sees a citizen's bottom-up strategies as an easy struggle or that changes will happen overnight. He merely advocates for people to talk less, act more. While Manjit advocates giving up because nothing is going to happen anyway because the country is beyond redemption.

I'm a Malaysian and I respect a foreigner's views. But if I were to pick between hope and being a defeatist, I would pick hope. Between top-down change and bottom-up struggle, I pick the latter (it is a more plausible action anyway since Manjit has said the top elite will ensure that they remain in power).

Between a young Malaysian who wants what best for the country and dares to share it versus an Australian academician with exclamations that the country is without direction - I think it is clear what my preference is.

Thank you for your views, Manjit. You become the reason why young Malaysians given time, energy and will, will rise in the coming years to campaign for change - to make Malaysia better and prove you wrong.