Malaysian-born appointed Cabinet Minister in Australia

This is indeed a proud moment for Malaysians. An inspiration to all aspiring politicians.

Aged 38 year old, born in Sabah and migrated to Australia at the age of 8, Penny Wong was made Climate Change and Water Minister by the new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. Penny was described as a brilliant strategist in the Labour Party, playing a part in the downfall of incumbent Prime Minister John Howard's government.

The appointment illustrates the political maturity of Australia. A foreign-born woman is elevated to the top ranks of the Australian political house based on merits. No fuss about race, colour, gender or background.

Lets look at Malaysia's political landscape. The government always tout Malaysia's multiracial diversity as the country's attraction, yet, it continues to pretend that the racial harmony is strong. It refused to debate the issue, labelling any attempts to openly discuss the NEP, the power-sharing formula, religious issues, etc. as either seditious or a threat to national unity.

UMNO is the big brother, the political elite. It's decisions is de facto government's decisions. MCA, MIC and other smaller component parties that make up the ruling National Front Party, has no real bargaining power with UMNO, which meant that frequently, new legislation that are unpopular with the minority races are pushed through without proper consultation. These weak component parties are then pushed to do the dirty job of explaining the "merits" of these new laws to their supporters and to the electorate to whom they were supposed to be fighting for.

The damage to Malaysia will not be immediate. If the minority races cannot have an equal opportunity in education, work and politics, there are other countries which will gladly take them. "Bring on your well-educated, your strong, your brightest," they will call out. And the brightest minds will certainly move. Penny Wong is a good example. She may not have left Malaysia because of frustration. But she is a good case of Malaysia losing precious human resource to another country when it should have actively sought the return of these Malaysian born talents.

Well done, Penny.