What have the action of the police in disrupting an orderly public forum on transport in Penang and subsequently arresting its organiser and social activist Ong Boon Keong and the gagging of Universiti Sains Malaysia students by the university authority in common?

The answer is that in both cases, the authorities refused to acknowledge and, therefore violated, the right of the people concerned to express their opinions in a peaceful and democratic manner.

The harassment inflicted by the police upon the general public is indicative of a government that no longer allows debate and dissent as a civilised way of exchanging ideas. Is the government so insecure that even a harmless forum provokes it to call for quick mobilisation of the police force?

In the case of USM, the ban imposed by the university on its students in the fear that they would issue statements to the press, especially malaysiakini, only reflects the eagerness of the university's leadership to play the 'police role' for the government.

It would appear that these students are those who have to rely on the national press as a viable outlet to voice out critical opinions that may run counter to that of the university. Institutions of higher learning ought to be the last place on earth for such shameful attempts to exercise 'thought control'.

It is also symptomatic of a university's leadership that doesn't care much about the importance of a questioning mind among its students, an intellectual ability that can make a crucial difference between a real graduate and an industrial/commercial robot. One doesn't need to be a professor to know this significance.

Both instances show that the authorities concerned are quick to resort to knee-jerk reaction to things that should have been tackled in a democratic, civilised and intelligent way. They are indeed themselves a threat to democracy, peace and intellectual development in the country.