A nation that is a true family must have room for arguments and disagreements without collapsing.

We Malaysians don’t seem to understand how to use true freedom of expression, speech and criticism properly and in good faith.

TWO recent incidents prompted this week’s column: Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman being barred from entering a university for a dialogue session with students at the end of last month; and a town hall meeting last week with the Higher Education Minister that reportedly saw students less than impressed by the responses – or rather, non-­responses – from the Higher Education people at the political and civil servant levels.

One concept is destructive and sees the ‘other’ as always wrong, while the other can see many ways to become closer to God.

Do we not have free will to believe what we want to or is our thinking restricted by the need to ‘protect tradition’?

MANY academicians were disappointed when Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin announced that the unity government will not touch the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA).

YET again the Malaysian education system throws up a “conversion controversy”: Last week it was reported that a teacher told an Indian pupil he should become a Muslim to boost his chances of becoming a national footballer.

Things have not changed much in 40 years, judging by the knee-jerk reactions to an age old issue.

Every time a hot button issue crops up, we tend to resort to knee-jerk reactions that do nothing to address the matter and, worse, damage relationships.

Teachers help to create citizens. How they teach the young has an enormous bearing on our nation’s future.

FOR my annual Christmas article, I once again draw on the concept of gift-giving from my brethren Christians in Malaysia.

If we let the impatient among us punch holes in its roof, it will come down on all of us.