Down to earth lecture on unity

It was simple straight-talk, no euphemism or honey-coated rhetoric. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad was in no mood to play to the gallery, when he spoke to about 2,000 students and academics on Muslim Unity in the Face of Challenges and Threats at the ancient seat of Islamic learning, Al Azhar University in Cairo last week, writes K. PARKARAN 

WHEN Dr Mahathir and Datin Seri Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali entered the cruise ship Marriot on River Nile for dinner with Malaysian students and dignitaries last Wednesday, they were ushered to the VVIP table right in the middle.