Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi recently made a statement that ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ is a perfectly okay concept.

It is not offending, frightening or dangerous to other races, because it simply means Malays being successful - and not, say, Malays being the high overlords of the subservient lesser races.

But if you want the simplest test of whether such an arbitrary redefinition can miraculously make ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ a nice, kind, gentle, cuddly, politically neutral phrase, just use the Put The Shoe On The Other Foot Technique and try these on for size:

‘Ketuanan Cina’, Chinese Supremacy.

Next, let's put this concept to the practical test. Let's get Lim Kit Siang to shout that at the next DAP rally. Let's have new MP Jeff Ooi open a motion on ‘Ketuanan Cina’ in Parliament while simultaneously writing a series of blog posts about it.

Let's see if ‘Ketuanan Cina’ will also be considered perfectly acceptable to the general public if we just redefine it as meaning 'Chinese being successful'.

Or if it will be rightly viewed as an intentionally outrageous, provocative and seditious statement meant to convey Chinese chauvinism and arrogance? One that lands its champions in detention without trial to preserve the peaceful multi-cultural equilibrium of the nation?

If you catch my drift, then you'll understand why Abdullah 's spin and redefinition fails to impress me.