I was overwhelmed by the recent commentaries by several letter writers to malaysiakini, namely Manjit Bhatia (Why PM, why?) of Australia and Delimma (No apologies for Malaysian way), on the issue of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's harsh words during his New Year speech.

Both writers were being personal in their attack or defence of the old 'firm' and the Malaysian way. I believe both were wayward in their arguments. Manjit was as frustrated as any Malaysian could be with the current state of affairs in certain areas  is not reflective of the realities in Malaysia. Allow me to elaborate.

I agree with Manjit there is no such thing as equal rights in Malaysia. There never has been, as it is clearly stamped out in the Constitution. Article 153 manifests the many ills that Manjit claims  but that is the norm in any political system  of trusted allies and friends.

It is still the same even for developed countries such as the US or Europe. The major difference between these advanced countries and developing ones is simple: there are more real businessmen there than they exist here. There the patronage system is very complex, yet transparent and straightforward.

Alliances are well managed and most of the time loyalties are not questioned or suspected. Business is allowed to flourish to an extent that politics has taken a secondary role to that of the creation of wealth. In other words, the economy is run by the businessmen, not politicians as is evident in Malaysia.

This trend will arrive none the sooner for Malaysia. We already see the beginning of the end of the so-called 'patriarchs period'; wherein the businessmen who earlier on during the tremendous growth period prospered are now finding their footing challenged by fresh faces and fresh ideas. Transparency is thankfully increasing in the business world, and this bodes well for the future.

And who do to thank for all these? It's still Mahathir's game, so I guess I will tip my hat off to him still. Sure, there will always be shortcomings, since there might be just too many skeletons he might have to clear from his closet before bowing out in October this year. But the motion has been set, and I see no turning back for the nation now. I can already see many organisations and corporations gearing up for the post-Mahathir era, wherein they would hope that performance; rather than politics, would be the gauge of their acumen and viability.

What Malaysians need to do now is to improve on certain key areas  but as far as Malaysians are concerned  to keep the economy afloat.

Manjit's condemnation of Malaysia's 2003 economic prospect is in my view made in haste, bad faith and malicious aforethought. I would have agreed with his findings had his allegations been made sometime in June or July when the real picture is shown in the direction of the economy. I believe at this point of time, it is too early to call. Let's leave it to the market forces and oh yes, if need be, some timely intervention to save our souls.

Delimma jests if he thinks there is equality in education. The rift is not only apparent in the tertiary education level, but also in primary and secondary education. This must be rectified soon so as to maintain the steady production of quality future employees and workforce for the nation. And it needs political will, not just voices of dissent and disaffection, to do just that. The people, voters must decide come end of this year or in 2004 on the next stage of evolution to take. But such improvements must never be at the expense of equal growth.

If the non-Malays could make it on their own without much aid from the government, that is testimony itself to their character and guile. It means they are true to the grit of Malaysianism as propagated by Mahathir  or even in Australia. This will have to change and expanded if we want to eradicate this.

I trust in the coming years as Malaysian society grow, the system can be expanded to aid all deserving Malaysians. It is not an impossibility, but will take some time to realise. And it is not just the responsibility of the government. Politicians, the corporate world and more importantly, society have to make the first move. If change is to be forced upon, then it might not be successful or even deflective.

Mahathir is also right to remind Malaysians of the danger to our sovereignty from outside interference. If Manjit claims his fears are dumbfounded he should read again John Howard's speech or that of President George W Bush on the right of these two powers to invade other countries for their own sakes. Where do we draw the line? What could a country as ill-equipped as Malaysia do if a super carrier from Australia came calling with all its firepower? That is why his sublime message, that it is not the artillery or firepower that wins wars, it's avoiding them or winning them in the hearts and minds that matters.

This is the reason for the failure to effectively combat terrorism until now. Brute strength only breeds contempt, hate and vengeance. Whereas the root causes are never addressed. Sept 11 could happen anywhere, but does that give rise to any country's claim to invade another to prevent it from recurring?

Manjit and Delimma both failed to address such issues. There are lots more in that speech, but suffice to say that attacking one's credibility should be the last thing on both their minds. Instead, both should think of solutions to improve the shortcomings. And both should be Malaysian enough to do something about it, from within. We have had enough of foreign intervention over the past 500 years to last our children's children's lifetime.