Singapore's ban on female Muslim students wearing tudung has set a very dangerous precedent for minorities, be they Muslim, Indian or Sikh. Likewise, Muslims in Buddhist-predominant Burma, Vietnam and Thailand, or non-Muslims in Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia also face some form of discrimination.

If the ban in Singapore is not opposed by all minorities and human rights advocates in the West, the next obvious target are the Sikhs and then Indians in Singapore. The oppression of minorities may then escalate.

It is time Singapore leaders stop being half-baked Western chauvinists and Chinese racists. They should learn to appreciate the different religions and cultures, and understand that Anglo-Saxon capitalist secularism has no deep root in this region nor Asia.

It is time the PAP leadership stop imagining or fantasising themselves as Atlees, Churchills or Kissinger. Our names are Lees, Wongs, Choongs, Gohs, Ahmads, Muhammads, Marimuthu, Singhs and Kaurs. Our ancestors came from China, India, Arab, the Malay Archipelago, not Greece or Rome.