Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is certainly wrong in calling for the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) to aplogise over the controversy of racial segregation in schools in Malaysia. Abdullah must be reminded that he is a servant of the people. No servant should demand apology from his/her master.

NUTP, as a socially responsible organisation, has the right to demand accountability from the government on issues relating to education, its policies and institution. Right or wrong, the government must give answers to the people and their organisations, like the NUTP.

NUTP must not yield to threats from the state. It must know that it has done the right and honourable things by forcing the government to look into the matter of alleged racial segregation in schools. In any case, NUTP must study the government report very carefully before making any statement. There might be dubious definitions and concepts made by the government of the report, to justify its claim that there is no segregation.