COMMENT | Religion, as it is practised in Malaysia, is soul-destroying.

If a woman were to discover a cure for coronavirus, many Malay Muslims in Malaysia, would probably say, "Mana tudung? Apa tak pakai tudung? Berdosa..." (Where is your head covering? Why aren't you wearing your head covering? Sinful).

If I were to visit a government 'jabatan' (department) dressed in a skirt, without a tudung, all hell would probably break loose. I once accompanied a relative to the Shah Alam syariah court and was rudely admonished by a woman in uniform, when a strand of hair poked out from my scarf.

Religion and race have corrupted our thinking and altered our priorities. Give the Malay a microphone and a soapbox to stand on, and he thinks he is God's gift to politics - and he is ever ready to micromanage how you live. Dress a Malay in uniform, and he thinks he is a Field Marshal.

The befuddled thinking is not confined to Malay men. The new Minister for Women, Family and Community Development, Rina Harun, and her deputy, Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff, have failed to inspire confidence during this alarming spread of the coronavirus in the country...