Could you please let Dina Zaman know that I loved her article, [#1] Canine capers and religious dogma [/#] (Feb 2)? So refreshing! So raw!

Call me an imbecile but I used to watch what I said in school and public because I didn't know if underlying my words were offensive Scuds that would make Muslims look at me askance. It's tough being a Chinese Malaysian here because we're eyed like some Chin Peng allies when racial tensions arise.

Numero uno is the pork issue. I never dared ask my Muslim friends about it because they always said pork was jijik (repugnant). Case closed. No discussion. We're left hanging with our own theories on why it's haram . It doesn't help in cementing relations, but hey... I sometimes think they didn't know many answers to their own questions too.

So Dina, thanks for the witty take on what it means to be Muslim - and yes, I often wondered if Muslims liked dogs or would like one for a pet.

You answered part of that question.

Keep up the good work at malaysiakini .