My email to the Editor of the Star Malaysia.Dear Editor,It astonishes me to read a report in one of the inside columns in your paper yesterday. "Govt plans programme to change mindset of orang asli" with a proposed budget of almost RM530 million. The programme"might include religious education, workshops to familiarise the orang asli with the government�s programmes and explanation on the government�s policies. "That is a lot of money to be spent on a programme that at best may produce little sporadic successes. It is up to the government to spend that large amount of money , but is "mindset changing" the best method to tackle this issue? Do we think that we can 'preach' to them and everything will be allright ?If we look at Abraham Maslow's Hierachical Needs theory , it is evident that the lower level pyramid needs to be satisfied first before we can go forward. Certainly, each orang asli community has diverse needs which may be too intense to be solved at one go. To throw RM530 million at a single method is too harsh. Use the money instead for a multifaceted approach . Let them own a piece of land that will enable them to make a living and stay , increase agricultural assistance and knowledge , improve sanitation and housing instead. This is a slow process , yet it will be the chosen path for those who are serious about helping our fellow Malaysians.I implore our Prime Minister and our chosen assembleyman to urge Rural and Federal Development Ministry to evaluate and resubmit a better proposal without prejudice. It is too long that our fellow Malaysians are left behind with such weak intervention programmes.