I am compelled to respond to the letter Malays need to be helped . I find that the non-Malays in Malaysia are fond of trying to distinguish the the Orang Asli and the Malays when they are one.

They use the Orang Asli to prove that Malays are outsiders like the non-Malays when all else is futile and ridiculous. This is to prove - albeit wrongly - that the Malays are not indigenous to the land and region. This is nothing but a cheap trick that must be exposed.

The only difference between the Orang Asli and the Malays is that the Malays have modernised with Islam because their forefathers accepted modernisation and development, while the Orang Asli have chosen to continue to live deep in the jungles.

The letter writer said that Malacca was founded by a prince with Indian blood called Parameswara. It's true that he was Hindu, but it does not mean that he was Indian. And he came from Palembang in Sumatera and therefore was indigenous to this area then called the Nusantara Melayu. It was before the British fractured it so we now hear less of this word - the Malay World.

If you live long enough, you will realise sooner or later, all the Orang Asli will look and be more like the Malays when they start to accept modernity and development. Even now they don't speak in their native dialects anymore and speak Malay instead. Once they leave their remote villages and get an education and mix around, they will look Malay.

I write this mostly as a third person in this issue. It is difficult to find anyone in Malaysia who can look at it in this way. They often have to take sides because they feel that they have to defend their race so their views are clouded.

The truth will prevail and for all to see in that the Malays in Malaysia have failed to help themselves first. The race-based political parties that we have is basically what's causing this problem. The Malay votes have been divided into large chunks. This has resulted in the precious Malay vote being splintered. As a result Umno and PAS have to kow-tow to the non-Malays to win any election.

If the Malays are truly united in one political force, then there is no need for them to waste time politicking and reducing their influence and clout in the process. And if there is only one Malay party, then there is no need for the general elections, too, since most of the parliamentary and state seats are Malay-dominated anyway.

But Malay leaders have failed to look after the interests of their own community; they only care about their own parties. I therefore strongly urge them to unite for the sake of Malay pride and for the future of the race. Only then we can show to everybody who we are and what we are.

Lastly, I do hope the other Chinese and Indians will come forward and offer their views to see if they are happy to be where they are now living in Malaysia or if they'd rather emigrate elsewhere. It is ironic to me to see how that the working-class and lesser educated Chinese and Indians are perfectly happy being where they are while those who have some education and can write in English are the ones who grumble a lot more.

And it is also not strange for me personally to find that the Chinese and Indians mostly grumble in English. None has dared to do so in Malay. The reason being, if they are able to write and speak better in Malay, chances are they would have mixed with the Malays more and known the true situation better.