Malaysia is a K-society all right. A knee-jerk society.

Instantly after the release of a summary of an investigation on the National Union of the Teaching Professions allegations of racial segregation in schools, the issue is reflexively stamped "solved". Razor-tongued politicians rush to the attack, demanding apologies from the NUTP, while blood-thirsty headmasters threaten law suits. Now the prime minister slams the lid shut by decreeing apologies and banishing debate. All this with, well, one shred of evidence: the independent panel's conclusion that racial segregation is minimal and not deliberate.

The sentence is far too flimsy for the demands it is being used to justify. But it seems to have slipped into people's minds and out between their lips. No one in public service has sensibly and logically questioned the panel's methods, findings and arguments.

Is there anything magical about an independent panel that we should be awestruck by their conclusion? Can we not assess their methods and results in a polite manner, for the good of society?

'Independent' is a title given to the committee because the law requires them, and we expect them, to be independent. It is given in trust, with high expectations and hope. It is a benchmark, not an honorific.

Unfortunately, we look on it as though the name guarantees the result. No, it is the result that either confirms or refutes the name. Malaysians must scrutinise the report to evaluate if it is worthy of the title 'independent'.

But we are confused. Let me raise three issues that may be useful.

First, let's be aware of the severe limitations of social enquiry and of human beings. Social issues are complex; conclusions are seldom unquestionable. Scientific experiments cannot be conducted and repeated in test tubes under controlled conditions using non-speaking cells. In laboratories, biases can be curtailed, but much less in societies. Enquiries into social matters require us to interview, discern, assume, extrapolate, conjecture. People speak  unless they have received a copy of the report, which would raise questions on how and why they and nobody else have special access to it.

Third, we offend to the authors of the report to take their conclusions so superficially and impulsively, without bothering to evaluate the merits of their method and limitations of their conclusions. In effect, we are saying that their work is not worthy of public scrutiny.

Let's do them a favour by having a read.

Do we ever conclude that an article is perfectly sound and believable by reading the last line or the last paragraph? Do we ever give standing ovations for speeches or artistic performances based on one line? (Unless you have decided beforehand to clap.)

Racial segregation in schools is too important an issue to our nation to let it vanish and worse still, go undercover. We owe ourselves a more open and meaningful dialogue on its extent and form.

It's not too late to show us the report. Please do this. Put it on the Education Ministrys website, where all official documents of national consequence belong. Replace names of schools and people (and note if it's a pseudonym) if necessary, but be open and not shy.

Then we can have a look at it, give some feedback, and help make Malaysia a better place.

Then we begin to take steps forward to be a K-society. A knowledge-based society.

Instead, we've taken a huge step backward.