I refer to the letter written by Jimmy Wong ([#1] Mahathir's embarrassing illogic [/#], March 17). If he had been to one of the ceramah given by the opposition parties, especially in rural and economically depressed areas, then Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement would make sense.

It is a fact of life that opposition parties in any part of the world blame whoever is governing the country for inequalities, forgetting that we live in an imperfect world where there is always someone who feels wronged - whether entirely a fault of his own or others.

As for the writer's claim that Keadilan has eschewed race-based politics, did Keadilan show such an inclination in the Lunas by-election where race was made an issue by the opposition parties?

What we have to keep in mind is that we don't want a small fire that started in Jalan Kelang Lama to turn to and engulf the rest of the country, fanned by statements/rumours/actions from political parties. If there are valid points to be made by political parties, then do it at a time when calm heads prevail.

We have seen what happens in other countries around us when a small incident can erupt and create uncontrolled and unimaginable havoc and sufferings for others. I do not want to see that happening here. Or is that the goal of opposition parties - to do what it takes to govern the country?