Respecting everyone’s freedoms

Some people have called for Malaysians to wear white in protest against refugees and migrant workers.

IN a world that seems to be increasingly oppressive, this quote by Nelson Mandela from his book Long Walk to Freedom, seemed fodder for thought: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

Despite spending 27 years in prison for his fight against the apartheid regime in South Africa, Mandela did not mean freedom as just the privilege of not being physically constrained. He meant freedom in every sense of the word but primarily in the way we think and consequently in the way we conduct ourselves.