Our Man in K.L ...............................

Like a moth to a flame, so 'Prezza' seems determined to say the wrong thing.

Clearly 'Holy Tone' thought that despatching him as foreign envoy to the Far East would keep his larger than life, 'put- his- foot- in- it- up-to- his- thigh' profile lower than it has been for a while.

However on his final stop-over in Kuala Lumpur it seems the Deputy Prime Minister wrote an article for a Malaysian daily stating that he felt that there was a lot us Brits could learn from the way people of different religions live in harmony in Malaysia. The country is home to Buddhists, Christians and Hindus but Muslims make up the majority of the population.

The fact is that since the 70's Malaysia has operated a positive discrimination policy which gives Muslim Malays priority in applying for civil service jobs or university places.

I last visited Malaysia in 1998 and my experience then showed me that many Chinese and Indian communities felt deep resentment about the way they were treated in so far as job opportunities were concerned. Nothing of that has changed. I'm afraid that Mr. Prescott is out of step with public opinion in Malaysia and has failed to get his antennae properly 'tuned in' once again.

The unvarnished truth is that the harmonious fusion which he feels is representative of Malaysia is more related to the cuisine than it is to the people who live there.