I refer to the Malaysiakini report PM: Let Tan explain bumiputera remarks.

It makes me wonder why Umno is unable to face the facts that the real bumiputera in this country are in fact the Orang Asli who are known to have lived in this part of the world since pre-historic times.

Nowhere on record is mentioned that the Perak man or the Niah man were Malay in origin; in fact, they belonged to a primitive group who had lived in this part of the world and migrated on land to as far as Australia and New Zealand.

History tells us that ethnic Malays in fact descended from Indo-China. They moved southward, and settled in this part of the world, with some moving across to Sumatera. This is one part of the history that we know.

The other part of history of our Malay brethren goes back to as early as the Hikayat Melayu in the 15th century.

In fact, in Hikayat Melayu, the earliest known form of written history, there was no denial that the Malacca Sultanate descended from one man, Parameswara, who arrived from Palembang, Sumatera.

Technically, he was an immigrant from what is now part of Indonesia. Often mistaken, not all Sumatrans - or Indonesians by large – are necessarily ethnic Malays.

Ethnic Malays do exist in Sumatera and are in fact a minority group who are culturally more refined than the other indigenous tribes like the Bataks in Indonesia. The Sundanese are fairer in skin, and the Javanese are known to be more industrious.

Not every Indonesian is in fact ethnic Malay in origin; but they are by virtue Indonesians because they speak the common language.

As a fellow Malaysian, I do not question the eminence and greatness of the Malay Rulers in this country, which is enshrined in the constitution; I am only upset to see how certain quarters of our 21st century society can react strongly against the origin of one’s own race.

Gerakan Wanita chief Tan Lian Hoe’s remarks were hardly provocative in nature - she was merely stating a fact in history.

Race is, in fact, only skin deep. What is desperately needed in this country is for everyone to look beyond his ethnicity, and learn to respect others the way we want them to respect us.

Where are we in putting others above self?