The recent controversy about who is or is not “authorised to use the 1Malaysia logo” is childish to say the least. But, maybe the problem with the concept or this symbol of a new concept is exactly what the Bangsa Malaysia concept faced in conceptual clarity at the point of her original pronouncement. Let me clarify.

The Bangsa Malaysia concept was first articulated in 1991 by then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. In fact, the whole world also knows that the author who brainstormed and created the concept was the late Noordin Sopiee, then founder director-general of ISIS, the first and foremost of Malaysian political think tanks. No one would contest this fact and neither would the former PM.