I refer to the letter Don't think that because we left, we don't care .

I agree with the writer on the grounds that Derrick Chan was absolute in his statement and that all Malaysians who have left the country had ‘abandoned' their house keeping duties.

I must say that there are both who abandoned housekeeping duties and those who still have Malaysia at heart.

Also, I must add that Chan was wrong in any way to accuse Malaysians who left the country of throwing in the towel. Indirectly, he is suggesting that they are traitors, especially of George Lee.

Should we blame Malaysians for leaving the country for a better life? If governments of other countries have enticed Malaysians to their countries, why should these Malaysians be stopped, when obviously our government does not have the excellence Malaysians at heart in providing them with the environment and resources to excel?

If we were to take the ‘moral' responsibility to stop these Malaysians and brand them as ‘traitors' or criminalise them for not participating in change, are we not stopping them from excelling as an individual?

I think, rather than pointing fingers at others for being ‘apathetic' or ‘afraid to participate in civil disobedience' or ‘you have not right to say I'm a coward', we should rather encourage and uphold each another.

We must recognise that leaving Malaysia is not as simple as ABC. It depletes resources, is emotionally stressful, and not to forget, it is also about letting go of our good ole' Malaysian food (or in other words, historical mementoes).

If Chan speaks like a utilitarian, he should understand that these individuals did not leave the country like they are going out to watch a movie - with just a snap of the finger.

Therefore, what I suggest is that, whether we are overseas or at home, we do what we can and bring change to our country.

Small petty fights or accusations like these would only weaken our fight for ‘the Malaysia we dream of'.

We should also recognise those who are apathetic and encourage them to be un-apathetic. Sometimes, apathy is not an intentional decision, but probably out of disgust.

I hope all Malaysians will continue to have Malaysia at heart and bring Malaysia forward, both for ourselves and for our future generations.