I was really touched by the letter written by Ibn Umar al-Jawi ([#1] A child's tears for a terrible father [/#], Feb 2) and tears came to my eyes.

I always believe that the minority of the Muslim-Malays and the majority of the non-Muslim-non-Malays who had supported Barisan Nasional in the 1999 general elections, be it out of ignorance, greed, anger or fear, are all a bunch of hypocrites. They may claim to be Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Taoist or Kong Fu Tze's followers, but they were in fact a shame to the teachings of Prophet Mohamed, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ, Lao Tze or even Kong Fu Tze, despite the adage that "when ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise".

Our Asiatic tradition, aspiration and culture are our invaluable treasures to guide our younger generation today towards a genuine understanding of justice. We should cease to regard our Asiatic ideas as strange, abnormal or exotic plants. It will be a great insult to our ancestors to say that human rights, democracy and freedom are all from the west. Bearing in mind that our ancestors had been fighting for freedom even much earlier and more courageously than the West.

Religion is definitely the prime mover for the expansion of studies of the Asiatic tradition, aspiration and culture to the young.

While the west is longing to balance its high material development with a spiritual culture and looking to the East for spiritual inspiration, the Malaysians are themselves yielding more and more to the bewitchment of materialism.

Religion is the most widespread, the most popular and the most elementary source of righteous conduct. It is also the most valuable means to uplift the morality and the spiritual strength of the society.

Those who say that religion has failed, on the grounds that it has failed to prevent religious conflicts, pass too quick a remark. Lest it be forgotten, the essence of the religious teachings teaches followers to forego prejudices and animosities we harbour against others, consciously or unconsciously.

Didn't Prophet Muhammad preached the brotherhood of the human race, and Jesus Christ propounded the unselfish love for all beings while Gautama Buddha made no distinction of faith with regard to human capabilities to attain enlightenment?

Unfortunately, their teachings degenerated with time. Be it Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism or any other religion, it is regrettably contaminated with unreligious elements and the core of its teachings have been blurred beyond recognition.

But religion will or still can demonstrate its usefulness if we incorporate the essence of the religious teachings, but not the outer form into our education system. That the subject of Islamic Education is taught in schools, universities and some private colleges without the essence of the teachings of Islam, is another sign of failure on the part of the government to awaken the Muslims' conscience.

If the greater awareness on spirituality is certainly part of the ultimate goal, it is essentially an inward, not outward one. It must come from within or it will not come at all.

Meanwhile, there is a need to emphasise inward awareness more than brute outward observance. It is equally paramount for us to know the largeness of other religions via comparative studies with goodwill and not to use them as a tool to hammer each other. It will help to soften the ingrained biases amongst the different races or communities in our society.

Only by true understanding of spirituality or the essence of religious teachings can justice be done and can be seen to be done from within.