Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Chinese advisers remind me of the time when the British were in Malaya. The Chinese advisers then were employed to aid the British to get their message across to the Chinese. They also supplied the British with feedback on policies.

With independence, the post of Chinese advisers was abolished because the Alliance government was cognizant of the problems faced by the local communities.

Now we have come a full circle with the formation of the post of Chinese adviser to the PM. Has the Malay leadership lost their feel of the ground regarding Chinese interests? Or have they become so arrogant that they have become the new 'colonial' masters?

If the present government were to take cognizant of the problems faced by the various ethnics there would be no need for the 'advisers'. Policymakers only need to be discerning. The government has a habit of initiating policies without enough thought put into them, and then wait for the feedback.

The present situation is a time-bomb. Nobody likes to be discriminated for more than 40 years and be expected to do so indefinitely. The ball is in the court of Umno and the government.