> Views on Icerd

Many Malaysians, regardless of race and religion, were not bothered by the anti-Icerd (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination) rally. In small towns, the three main races carried on with life as usual on Dec 8, mingling with each other. In my small town, there were two Indian weddings that all three races attended. Also, the pasar malam (night market) which began at 2pm saw the rakyat mingling with each other as usual. – R.P. Jarsan, Johor

I am a non-bumiputera tax payer. My family and I have made it in this beloved country without Icerd. So have many other non-bumiputeras. We and our forefathers accepted what is enshrined in the Federal Constitution, and we worked hard to get to where we are today, in the only country we know as home.

Thanks Dr Varghese for your timely letter (“The ‘separate but equal’ fallacy”, Views, Dec 10). There is a need for civics to be taught to all students in Forms Four and Five; it should also be made a compulsory subject for SPM. All citizens must be taught the fundamentals of the Federal Constitution, Parliament, branches of government, etc, so the rights of all citizens are honoured. – Dr Citizen

A good government is not one that only understands and cares for the people who vote for it but also understands and cares for those who don’t. This is true democracy. As for those who take to the streets to voice their fear that their rights will be terminated, they should rest assured that this will not happen as long as we have our Federal Constitution and our King on the throne. – William Ong