COMMENT | I remember staying at a rough Malay backpackers’ place during my first trip to Tioman Island in 1984. When I ordered a simple mee goreng, it took one hour for the food to arrive.

Fast forward to 2020, a different Malay stall in the same part of Tioman is churning out food in a fast and furious way. The backpackers' hovels have been replaced with nifty resorts, mostly run and owned by Malays.

In decades past, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad used to lecture the Malays about being “backward” at the Umno general assemblies.

But in my area of Petaling Jaya now, there are two Chinese and five Malay motorbike shops - and the latter are doing better...