I am deeply disappointed with the letter 'A time to right the wrong' (July 18) by Muslim Student.

For one, I find it very disturbing that the writer could not state for sure the name of the caliphalthough the writer was using the caliph story as a crucial analogy. Surely, the writer could have easily done a little homework to get this particular record validated.

I'm not criticising his opinion or ideology. However, he made some sweeping conclusions without much supporting evidence.

The writer readily admitted that Malaysia has become much more industrialised in the last 20 years. Unimpressed, he said rapid industrialisation has caused Malaysia to be overly dependent on industry.

I find it disconcerting that the writer failed to note the benefits of industrialisation; for one, Malaysia has managed to increase its per capita GDP of only US$600 at the time of independence to today's much more respectable amount of [#1] US$4,500[/#] .

I am by no means trying to be a model capitalist by pulling out these numbers. However, like it or not, Malaysians today are so much well off because of the fact that our wealth has increased multiple-fold.

Clearly this increased wealth have resulted in many tangible benefits. Benefits such as increased average life expectancy of Malaysians; decreasing infant mortality rate, increasing literacy rate and many more. These cannot be regarded lightly.

The writer clearly is supporting an agriculture-based economy. While the agriculture industry is also important, we should not get carried away. Over-dependence on agriculture carries a much greater risk on the well-being of Malaysians. Trust me, the prices of agricultural commodities are far more volatile than prices of manufactured goods. To prove my point, there is not a single agriculture-based country in the world that is not poor! Look at all the starving nations of the world such as Somalia and Ethiopia. Aren't these countries agriculture-based?

Of course, semi-conductors cannot be eaten but when was the last time we saw a Malaysian die out of starvation?

Nevertheless, in some levels I do agree with the writer that we should not be overly-dependent on industry alone. It is far better if we have a diversified economy. As the old saying goes, do not put all your eggs in one basket.

Frankly, I think Malaysia's economy is far more diversified than many of its neighboring countries. That is why our economy is far more resilient in facing the global downturn than many. It is worth noting, as of now, our rich neighbor Singapore is in a technical recession and we are not.

"Malaysia can take a lot more pain than the rest of the region," said Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, regional strategist Sean Darby, commending that the ringgit peg had been well-managed, foreign direct investment was holding up, and Malaysia always had its traditional dollar earners - oil, palm oil and other soft commodities - to bolster its trade account if manufacturing exports stay weak.

I think the writer should not overreact with regard to the effects of the slowdown of the US economy - the biggest consumer of Malaysian manufactured goods - and the mighty Chinese economy sucking foreign investments away from Malaysia. All economies, including those of the US and Malaysia, have cyclical behaviour. They will always have good years along with some bad years. This does not in any way diminish the benefits of industrialisation.

I also disagree with the statement "now that this place (Malaysia) is no longer profitable, they (foreign investors) leave and go to 'greener pastures' (mainly China)".

If we look at the data carefully, one could not really support the idea that investors are shunning Malaysia. In 1998, the Malaysian FDI (foreign direct investment) inflow was US$2.7 billion and in 1999 the amount was US$3.5 billion. Malaysia's FDI inflow actually increased. All the while people were also investing in China.

If we look at Malaysia's FDI stocks - essentially the accumulated FDI over the years - it is even more impressive! It was last reported to be US$48.8 billion. This is very impressive considering that in South Korea and Thailand, the FDI stocks were last reported to be only US$28 billion and US$26.5 billion respectively.

One might disagree with the way our PM governs the country. But one could not deny Dr Mahathir Mohamad's hard work and preparation in implementing his ideas.

If there is one thing we could all learn from his 20 years in power is that Mahathir does not leave any rock unturned. I believe even Mahathir's staunchest critics could be well advised in adopting our PM's work ethics.