The arrogant decision of the Singapore government to bar those Malay-Muslim schoolchildren from attending state schools simply because of their religious attire only reflects the inability of the PAP leadership to appreciate and celebrate the cultural diversity that has enriched Singaporean life all this while.

It is therefore to be expected that all right-thinking Malaysians and other nationalities would express their disgust over this issue.

Similarly, these right-thinking people ought to feel equally disturbed with the way the Universiti Sains Malaysia authorities have been treating, or rather mistreating, student leaders of the Chinese Language Society over the issues of the debate competition, vision schools, and also the all-Malaysian concern, ISA.

To some extent, the action taken by USM against these students smacks of racism. It is as if the institution does not have the capacity or the willingness to appreciate cultural and also intellectual diversity.

USM, as an institution of higher learning, must have the intellectual and moral fibre to face these challenges squarely and intelligently. Otherwise, people would start taking it less seriously as an academic institution.