I make reference to the offensive little piece of writing from Charles Ooi, [#1] Paradox of 'Malay supremacy' [/#] (Feb 7).

Ketuanan Melayu is here to stay. Learn to live with that simple fact.

As opposed to other countries in the world, non-indigenous persons here are given brilliant opportunities to grow and prosper. Three thousand years of history and a tendency to "clan" like a horde of impoverished Genghis Khans make the Chinese a formidable adversary in almost any society in terms of commercial enterprise and property ownership. Throw them anywhere and yes, they will thrive.

So it comes to no surprise how they thrived to no end here in Malaysia, because nowhere in the world have this set of tough and rough people been given such an opportunity. Land of the free? Canada? Australia? Methinks not. So be thankful for the chance given here.

Remember the agreement concerning citizenship given to non-Malays more than four decades ago? Chew on that for a moment and be thankful the decision arrived at was not to boot the Chinese out of the country.

Ketuanan Melayu is historical. It is not ironic, nor is it a paradox, since its establishment is currently an ongoing process. Have the Malays financially and socially achieved the age of majority in this very young country? Not yet, but they are getting there.

Is the success of Malays generated from a complex web of cronyism and contacts? Maybe yes and maybe no, but then again it's not that much different from that of the Chinese business community and their tacit unwritten agreement amongst each other to help one another out. How then do you explain 15 Chinese-owned workshops working side by side in a small commercial area?

And yes, the Malays are learning to fish with the fishing rod given to them, it's just that the best fishing spots have been taken by the Chinese. But not all, I'll grant you that. But then again, the Chinese are ever so willing to trade their good business ethics for bad by offering to fish for the Malays.

The problem with Malays though, I have to point out, is that they are too tolerant with others. I know tolerance is a virtue, but not when it comes to having people walk all over you.

The recent Malay Action Front gathering, despite any intonations there, was an affirmative step by the Malays for the Malays, which, in my humble opinion is not unlike the position taken by Suqiu. Are some Chinese afraid of the competition? The numbers may be large, but I don't think that it is that which causes concern for the writer; it is the initiative taken at the correct time using the correct tone of voice and correct text of choice.