Disheartening that Malaysian Muslims have to defend their religion in their own country

Michelle Yeoh with her Golden Globe award for Best Actress on Jan 10. In one of her acceptance speeches, Yeoh proudly announced that she came from Malaysia at a time when no one in the West knew where Malaysia was and many were shocked that she could speak English. — Reuters

WRITER June HL Wong, in her So Aunty, So What column on Jan 25 ("The rise and rise of our belle") seems to imply that Michelle Yeoh’s home country had no hand in her brilliant success on the world stage because, according to Wong, the current set up in Malaysia “makes it impossible for talents in Malaysia to become accomplished artistes”.

According to Aunty, this is “because Finas (the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia) ... has been guided by the National Culture Policy formulated in 1971 which was based on the principle that the national culture must be based on Malay culture with Islam as an important component, and that only ‘suitable elements’ from the other cultures may be accepted”.