As James Wong Wing On rightly points out in his article 'Dr Mahathir's Chinese dilemma' (May 22), the Chinese community survived the 20-year New Economic Policy (NEP) without supporting MCA. So, what relevance does MCA have for the Chinese?

My family and I (34 years old now) have never once voted for MCA or Barisan Nasional, and yet we are okay. We have been supporting the opposition as a measure of check sand balance against Barisan Nasional (it was called the Alliance when my father was young) and we still can earn money by working hard honestly. We don't need special favours from the government because we have the skills, friends, knowledge and the networks.

I say this because I want the Chinese Malaysian business community to realise that MCA is not indispensable. We really need to critically evaluate MCA. If there is a need, just dump MCA into the dustbin. With a stronger opposition, we businessmen can hold the government to be more accountable and less secretive. With a free press, we businessmen know more about the real deal behind economic matters.

So, I will be donating RM5,000 to malaysiakini's Independent Media Fund very soon as a businessman's token of support for these remarkable journalists and writers who really make us think seriously about so many issues that concern us. When the next general-elections come, I will also donate money to PAS, Keadilan, DAP and PRM to make them fight more effectively.