I refer to the letter Indian Muslims 'ethnically cleansed' .

Let's cut to the chase. There is only one reason, and only one, why some Indian Muslim Malaysians wish to be classfied as bumiputera. And it is a pathetic, shameful and a morally indefensible one.

This call then by some Indian Muslims must be seen for what it is – a shameless attempt at a naked grab for special privileges, without having to work hard and diligently for it. The classic gaji buta syndrome in Malaysian society.

By this process, many hope to amass great wealth and leap-frog over their non-bumi fellow citizens, forgetting that such practices are reviled universally and their practitioners held in utter contempt. 'For what shall it profiteth a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul' seems to have been forgotten in this country.

But the fact remains that there are many cases of Indian Muslims being classified as bumiputera by the relevant department without any special prompting. There is at least one case of an Indian Malaysian converting to Islam of his own free will and being classified as a bumiputera.

The fact that many Indian Muslim ladies do not wear the sari at home or speak Tamil has no bearing on the issue. Today, many Indian Malaysians can lay claim to the same cultural evolution.

Privileges should be earned, and not assumed by fiats, religious persuasion or tinkering around and tweaking semantics. Little wonder that meritocracy is a much feared word among special-interest groups in this glorious nation of ours.