With reference to Devaraj's letter, 'Malaysia must emulate Cuba' (May 12), what can we learn from Cuba? If that country was so great, why are their refugees still fleeing by boats to American shores and not the other way around?

In case the writer is unaware, the Cold War has already ended. Gorbachev wound up the last great socialist empire - the Soviet Union. So what are all these slogans like 'Down with imperialists'?

At the time when Malaysia desires to embrace 'globalisation' and 'Information Revolution', the writer dismissed them, as "guises of neo-imperialist threats" perpetuated by "local bourgeoisie and petit-bourgeoisie opinion-makers".

My advice to the writer is not to be a prehistoric dinosaur. Capitalism is the victor over socialism. Even in our private prayers, we implore providence for prosperity. The Money God is always worshiped side by side with the real God. Anyone who abjures the importance of money and the greed to get it is either a hypocrite or an abjurer of life itself.

Malaysia has always been capitalistic, as it should be. Our CEO is capitalistic - not Marxist like Castro. We were not a client state of ex-imperialist USSR. We did not allow any missiles to be installed by big powers on our soil. Most important we believe in the constitution and due process of law. We don't seize power by guerrilla warfare like Castro.

The only thing in common between President Dr Fidel Castro and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is that both are 'rebels' with a common cause - the cause to go alone and speak fearlessly and vociferously against the rich and powerful nations on behalf of the Third World, and at the same time, at least in our case, aspiring to cause a transition of their nation's status from Third World to that of the rich and powerful in the First World!

The other thing in common is their long tenure as leaders. With more than 40 years, Castro is the longest-serving leader in the world, Mahathir, the longest-serving in Asia. That makes both of them supreme Machiavellian wielders of political power. Both dare to stand up against Pax Americana, though the difference is that Castro suffers American economic sanctions, whilst our PM cleverly makes the Americans our major trading partner.

And we don't expropriate American assets. We invite the icon of American capitalism itself, Bill Gates to set up Microsoft in the Multimedia Super Corridor. Cuba was once a rich country: See what is she now when ostracised by the international community over all these years?

We can go our way but certainly not Cuba's way as Devaraj suggested.