UTM deputy vice-chancellor Prof Mohamed Mansor Abdullah was recently quoted in a Chinese daily as saying: "Parents don't have to tell their child why he or she should not pee in the living room" in reply to the Chinese student representatives query why they were not allowed to hold their Chinese New Year cultural exhibition in the hall.

His reply implied that to hold the cultural exhibition in the hall is comparable to children peeing in the living room.

It is a shame that an educator should resort to such a derogatory, contemptuous remark. Not only the students but also their parents have been insulted, if what the Chinese press has said is true.

We have no way of knowing if the exhibition justifies the affront unless the UTM authority let the exhibition be held.

I have since learnt that the exhibition was merely a range of Chinese cultural activities which have the support of other student communities too. So why were the students denied the use of the hall? I hope some higher-ups cough up an explanation for this incident to quell whatever rumours that may crop up.