I quote Muhd Khusrin Munawi as reported in the news item Loca l council polls: 'Malays could lose out' .

'Local elections would lead to Malays being marginalised, because communities under local municipal and city authorities are dominated by non-Malays.'

Implicitly, what he is saying is that non-Malays, when elected into local municipalities and city authorities, are bound to marginalise Malays. Where is Khusrin pulling that out from?

If democracy is to function properly, people decide who they want as their leaders. However, considering the socio-political structure in Malaysia, it is very important that Malays be given positions even if they do not form the majority. I give full credit to this argument.

However, even with that allowance, should Malay authorities outnumber non-Malay authorities in areas where there is a non-Malay majority? Why should they if democracy is practiced? They should not at all.

I deduce this assuming that Malays are more likely to vote for Malays as their representatives. I also assume that Malays are able to serve a Malay majority more efficiently based on familiarity with lifestyle and culture. The same applies to non-Malays.

I have no hard numbers, but I am quite sure that Malays dominate council positions in many areas where non-Malays form the majority of the populace. With the assumptions I made, this defeats the purposes of these authorities. They are not going to be able to serve the population.

Some readers will disagree. I have argued based on commonly accepted logic and sentiment. Let me state my personal opinion.

I don't think the race of my leaders should even be a problem. I've been represented by Malay leaders, by and large, all my life. I think they are doing a good job. There are shortcomings, but these we can work on only if we are first given the right to vote. In the case of our municipalities, this basic right is not granted.

Khusrin, the problem lies with those who think like you. The rest of the population, I trust, can allow for leaders to be judged by the wealth of their character, not the colour of their skin.

Dear Khusrin, I don't think you should have held office. You do not seem to understand your job. Let me remind you. You stand for the people in your municipality, not for a particular group of people.

And, sir, if you think you can stand for everyone, what makes you think someone else can't? More importantly, what makes you think the people cannot decide their leaders for themselves?