Some people have a one-track mind.

They were always meeting each morning for their daily walks. They would exchange greetings and talked about a good number of things. As they got to know each other better, Ho was more confident about discussing more than general topics.

"Ismail, how can that politician say that non-Malays are not patriotic. Yes, there are very few non-Malays in the army but that does not mean the Chinese, the Indian and the others are not patriotic. Some of these UMNO politicians are too much," he commented to his friend, believing that his friend would sympathise with him and his community for being branded not patriotic.

"What do you know about that? Of course, if they are not willing to join the army, then they must be not patriotic. That was an UMNO politician you were criticising. He must have known the reason to make such a comment," Ismail shouted.

Our friend, Ho, got a shock at the rebuke he got when he was expecting some sympathetic views. And even if the guy did not agree with his statement, as a friend, he ought to try find out what and how Ho felt before explaining how that politician could have come to such a conclusion.

So, when he told Din and me about the incident, we told him that some people are like that. They do not wish to hear anything different from their own views, even when those views are coming from a friend. Or maybe Ho is still not considered a friend, merely one of those acquaintances of his whose thoughts and friendship are not worth considering.

At this point, I remember a Malay friend from Kota Kuala Muda who was sympathetic to the cause of poor non-Malays. You see, at one time I was poor. I used to ride a motorcycle to school. So when I got married and, after a number of years, was still without a child, this friend thought I dared not bring a child into this world yet because unlike a Malay child, it would be difficult to get scholarships and places in the public university. Unlike Ho's friend, this friend was close and we used to discussed many topics some others might find too sensitive. I remembered his very words: Don't worry, Ai Wei. By the time your children are big enough for school, things would change and your children would have just as much chance as any Malay children for educational progress. Though his words have not come true, it was his sincerity that touched me to such an extent that I will always remember there was such a Malay friend. May God bless him always. It is his influence and those of others like him that I find myself capable of mixing well with the Malays.

However, I am aware too that there are people who think differently; who thinks the world is for them and them alone. Some of them are racial in their thinking. Some of them think that they are the best, the only ones with God, the only ones entitled to this land and nothing can ever changed their ideas. As I understand that it is better to go round the wall instead of trying to climb over it or bang at it, that is what I always do. It saves us from a lot of frustration or anger and hurt. I just do not give them a chance to take away my happiness. If we think we can help them, then we try. However, if I think they have built a solid wall between them and me, I just go around them. They are happy and I am happy too.

We just tell ourselves; it takes all types to make a world. We do our best and let God do the rest.