By Vijay Joshi

(AP) - Malaysia marked 50 years of independence Friday with dances and parades, in a colorful show of ethnic unity that belied worsening race relations and growing fears about eroding minority rights.

Smartly dressed Malays, Chinese and Indians danced in a parade at the Merdeka Square, or Freedom Square, where Malaysia's first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman announced independence from Britain on Aug. 31, 1957.

In a midnight speech to about 100,000 Malaysians assembled at Merdeka Square, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the struggle to fulfill the objectives of independence has not been won, despite remarkable economic progress and prosperity for nearly all citizens.

"The struggle is for all Malaysians. We must ensure that no region or community is left behind. We will hold true to the concept of justice and fairness for all citizens," Abdullah said. "We must take care of our unity."

But racial unity appears to be unraveling, say many observers, citing an affirmative action program for the majority Malays and the growing influence of Islam that ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities say is undermining the constitutional rights to a secular government and freedom to practice their faiths.

Today in Asia - Pacific
South Korean hostages head back home from AfghanistanThailand lifts ban on YouTubeSuicide bomber misses German patrol, hits Afghan troops"Although we have achieved a lot in 50 years, I have my doubts we can continue to sustain the pace of the progress until we change our mind-set and develop more dynamic and meritocratic policies," said Ramon Navaratnam, a former Finance Ministry adviser and an architect of the country's economic policies.

Malay Muslims make up about 60 percent of the country's 26 million people. Chinese are 25 percent, Indians 10 percent and the rest belong to other minorities.

Members of the three races got together Friday in a state-orchestrated party at Merdeka Square. Thousands of drummers proved the beats for various dances watched by Malaysia's constitutional king and queen, government ministers, foreign dignitaries and tens of thousands of citizens.

Helicopters showered the crowd with powder in colors of the national flag, and newly acquired Russian-made fighter jets flew by for the finale.

At independence, Malays were the poorest and the most backward ethnic group. But an affirmative action program started in 1971 gave Malays privileges and preferences in jobs, education, businesses, housing, bank loans and government contracts.

The program has given rise to minority disenchantment, and even Malays have complained that it benefits only those close to Abdullah's United Malays National Organization party. The party dominates the ruling coalition, sharing some power with Chinese, Indian and other race-based parties.

"What divides us has become more accentuated than what unites us," the Christian Federation of Malaysia said in a statement. "Signs of polarization along ethnic and religious lines, along with all forms of chauvinism, racism and superiority are eroding our national unity."

The spread of Islamic conservatism is adding to ethnic tensions, which have remained under the surface since racial riots in May 1969 left hundreds dead.

Court verdicts this year have found that civil courts have no jurisdiction in Islamic matters, even when applied to non-Muslims.

Clerics have been telling Muslims not to attend Christian or Hindu festivals, and some condemn Christians and Jews at Friday prayers. Most Malay women now wear head scarves, not part of their traditional attire. Some schools have started reciting Muslim prayers.

The trend worries many modern Malays.

"The question we are facing is, are we Malay first or Muslim first? Right now most people have become Muslim first," said Tengku Zafrul Aziz, the chief executive of Tune Money, an investment and insurance company.

Something I got from a Malaysian youth organisation. I apologise in advance if it seems offensive, but when I read it, it seems to me as a compliment to the Jewish people rather than denounciation of anything, except for the views about Israel as a state.

Why are Jews so powerful?

There are only 14 million Jews in the world; seven million in the Americas,
five million in Asia, two million in Europe and 100,000 in Africa. For every
single Jew in the world there are 100 Muslims. Yet, Jews are more than a
hundred times more powerful than all the Muslims put together. Ever wondered
why?

Jesus of Nazareth was Jewish. Albert Einstein, the most influential
scientist of all time and TIME magazine's 'Person of the Century', was a
Jew. Sigmund Freud -- id, ego, superego -- the father of psychoanalysis was
a Jew. So were Karl Marx, Paul Samuelson and Milton Friedman.

Here are a few other Jews whose intellectual output has enriched the whole
humanity: Benjamin Rubin gave humanity the vaccinating needle. Jonas Salk
developed the first polio vaccine. Alert Sabin developed the improved live
polio vaccine. Gertrude Elion gave us a leukaemia fighting drug. Baruch
Blumberg developed the vaccination for Hepatitis B. Paul Ehrlich discovered
a treatment for syphilis (a sexually transmitted disease). Elie Metchnikoff
won a Nobel Prize in infectious diseases.

Bernard Katz won a Nobel Prize in neuromuscular transmission. Andrew Schally
won a Nobel in endocrinology (disorders of the endocrine system; diabetes,
hyperthyroidism) . Aaron Beck founded Cognitive Therapy (psychotherapy to
treat mental disorders, depression and phobias). Gregory Pincus developed
the first oral contraceptive pill. George Wald won a Nobel for furthering
our understanding of the human eye. Stanley Cohen won a Nobel in embryology
(study of embryos and their development) . Willem Kolff came up with the
kidney dialysis machine.

Over the past 105 years, 14 million Jews have won 15-dozen Nobel Prizes
while only three Nobel Prizes have been won by 1.4 billion Muslims (other
than Peace Prizes).

Why are Jews so powerful? Stanley Mezor invented the first micro-processing
chip. Leo Szilard developed the first nuclear chain reactor. Peter Schultz,
optical fibre cable; Charles Adler, traffic lights; Benno Strauss, Stainless
steel; Isador Kisee, sound movies; Emile Berliner, telephone microphone and
Charles Ginsburg, videotape recorder.

Famous financiers in the business world who belong to Jewish faith include
Ralph Lauren (Polo), Levis Strauss (Levi's Jeans), Howard Schultz
(Starbuck's) , Sergey Brin (Google), Michael Dell (Dell Computers), Larry
Ellison (Oracle), Donna Karan (DKNY), Irv Robbins (Baskins & Robbins) and
Bill Rosenberg (Dunkin Donuts).

Richard Levin, President of Yale University, is a Jew. So are Henry
Kissinger (American secretary of state), Alan Greenspan (fed chairman under
Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush), Joseph Lieberman, Madeleine Albright
(American secretary of state), Casper Weinberger (American secretary of
defence), Maxim Litvinov (USSR foreign Minister), David Marshal (Singapore's
first chief minister), Issac Isaacs (governor-general of Australia),
Benjamin Disraeli (British statesman and author), Yevgeny Primakov (Russian
PM), Barry Goldwater, Jorge Sampaio (president of Portugal), John Deutsch
(CIA director), Herb Gray (Canadian deputy PM), Pierre Mendes (French PM),
Michael Howard (British home secretary), Bruno Kreisky (chancellor of
Austria) and Robert Rubin (American secretary of treasury).

In the media, famous Jews include Wolf Blitzer (CNN), Barbara Walters (ABC
News), Eugene Meyer (Washington Post), Henry Grunwald (editor-in-chief
Time), Katherine Graham (publisher of The Washington Post), Joseph Lelyyeld
(Executive editor, The New York Times), and Max Frankel (New York Times).

Can you name the most beneficent philanthropist in the history of the world?
The name is George Soros, a Jew, who has so far donated a colossal $4
billion most of which has gone as aid to scientists and universities around
the world. Second to George Soros is Walter Annenberg, another Jew, who has
built a hundred libraries by donating an estimated $2 billion.

At the Olympics, Mark Spitz set a record of sorts by wining seven gold
medals. Lenny Krayzelburg is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Spitz,
Krayzelburg and Boris Becker are all Jewish.

Did you know that Harrison Ford, George Burns, Tony Curtis, Charles Bronson,
Sandra Bullock, Billy Crystal, Woody Allen, Paul Newman, Peter Sellers,
Dustin Hoffman, Michael Douglas, Ben Kingsley, Kirk Douglas, Goldie Hawn,
Cary Grant, William Shatner, Jerry Lewis and Peter Falk are all Jewish? As a
matter of fact, Hollywood itself was founded by a Jew. Among directors and
producers, Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Oliver Stone, Aaron Spelling
(Beverly Hills 90210), Neil Simon (The Odd Couple), Andrew Vaina (Rambo
1/2/3), Michael Man (Starsky and Hutch), Milos Forman (One flew over the
Cuckoo's Nest), Douglas Fairbanks (The thief of Baghdad) and Ivan Reitman
(Ghostbusters) are all Jewish.

To be certain, Washington is the capital that matters and in Washington the
lobby that matters is The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or
AIPAC. Washington knows that if PM Ehud Olmert were to discover that the
earth is flat, AIPAC will make the 109th Congress pass a resolution
congratulating Olmert on his discovery.

William James Sidis, with an IQ of 250-300, is the brightest human who ever
existed. Guess what faith did he belong to?

Question:

So, why are Jews so powerful?

Answer: Education.

Why are Muslims so powerless?

There are an estimated 1,476,233,470 Muslims on the face of the planet: one
billion in Asia, 400 million in Africa, 44 million in Europe and six million
in the Americas. Every fifth human being is a Muslim; for every single Hindu
there are two Muslims, for every Buddhist there are two Muslims and for
every Jew there are one hundred Muslims. Ever wondered why Muslims are so
powerless?

Here is why: There are 57 member-countries of the Organisation of Islamic
Conference (OIC), and all of them put together have around 500 universities;
one university for every three million Muslims. The United States has 5,758
universities and India has 8,407. In 2004, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
compiled an 'Academic Ranking of World Universities' , and intriguingly, not
one university from Muslim-majority states was in the top-500.

As per data collected by the UNDP, literacy in the Christian world stands at
nearly 90 per cent and 15 Christian-majority states have a literacy rate of
100 per cent. A Muslim-majority state, as a sharp contrast, has an average
literacy rate of around 40 per cent and there is no Muslim-majority state
with a literacy rate of 100 per cent. Some 98 per cent of the 'literates' in
the Christian world had completed primary school, while less than 50 per
cent of the 'literates' in the Muslim world did the same. Around 40 per cent
of the 'literates' in the Christian world attended university while no more
than two per cent of the 'literates' in the Muslim world did the same.

Muslim-majority countries have 230 scientists per one million Muslims. The
US has 4,000 scientists per million and Japan has 5,000 per million. In the
entire Arab world, the total number of full-time researchers is 35,000 and
there are only 50 technicians per one million Arabs (in the Christian world
there are up to 1,000 technicians per one million). Furthermore, the Muslim
world spends 0.2 per cent of its GDP on research and development, while the
Christian world spends around five per cent of its GDP.

Conclusion: The Muslim world lacks the capacity to produce knowledge.

Daily newspapers per 1,000 people and number of book titles per million are
two indicators of whether knowledge is being diffused in a society. In
Pakistan, there are 23 daily newspapers per 1,000 Pakistanis while the same
ratio in Singapore is 360. In the UK, the number of book titles per million
stands at 2,000 while the same in Egypt is 20.

Conclusion: The Muslim world is failing to diffuse knowledge.

Exports of high technology products as a percentage of total exports are an
important indicator of knowledge application. Pakistan's exports of high
technology products as a percentage of total exports stands at one per cent.
The same for Saudi Arabia is 0.3 per cent; Kuwait, Morocco, and Algeria are
all at 0.3 per cent while Singapore is at 58 per cent. Conclusion: The
Muslim world is failing to apply knowledge.

Why are Muslims powerless? Because we aren't producing knowledge. Why are
Muslims powerless? Because we aren't diffusing knowledge. Why are Muslims
powerless? Because we aren't applying knowledge. And, the future belongs to
knowledge-based societies.

Interestingly, the combined annual GDP of 57 OIC-countries is under $2
trillion. America, just by herself, produces goods and services worth $12
trillion; China $8 trillion, Japan $3.8 trillion and Germany $2.4 trillion
(purchasing power parity basis).

Oil rich Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar collectively produce goods and
services (mostly oil) worth $500 billion; Spain alone produces goods and
services worth over $1 trillion, Catholic Poland $489 billion and Buddhist
Thailand $545 billion (Muslim GDP as a percentage of world GDP is fast
declining).

So, why are Muslims so powerless?

Answer: Lack of education.