I have always loved anti-war protests. In the early 1990s, I organised one in a Malaysian school when Desert Storm broke out. It was a good exercise in critical thinking, public speaking and poster-making for a school in Perlis

I stayed up till early morning, in my home library in Kangar, Perlis, listening to the news on Desert Storm. Having heard so much the phrase "Mother of Inventions" from the rock musician Frank Zappa, that night I hear for the first time the phrase "Mother of All Battles".

The next day, I helped the school organised Malaysia's first high school anti-war protest in the school compound. The New Straits Times came. They were attracted to this placard which read "Bush is a Coward" and "Bush is a Chicken" (At that time George Bush Senior was United States president).

The media carried the news. It was a great feeling to be able to express something of great significance and to go an extra mile educating children for peace, in a place as uncomplicated, laid back and pastoral as Perlis. These children were the best and the brightest of their generation. I am sure, wherever they are, they are still carrying the memory and the inextinguishable flame of peace and social justice.

Of course, a group of Special Branch high-ranking officers came down the following day to "interview me and my peace-loving student protesters".

I told them this: "I'd rather teach them to be pro-peace than to be pro-war. My role as educator is to also do that. Your children will appreciate this." They listened and learned, I supposed.

The following week, the government of Dr Mahathir Mohamad agreed to allow a national peace vigil in Stadium Merdeka to protest the bombing of Baghdad. What a contradiction!

That was 1990 - my year of teaching dangerously.

Spray those protestors!

The recent water-spraying of peace protesters [ photos ] bring me memories of my days in beautiful Perlis.

The protest was part of a global effort to express our anger at the United States and its allies for the devastation done on Iraq and the atrocities done on the Iraqi people. Even in US, loud voices continue to call for the troops to be brought home. Veterans of the Vietnam War and of Desert Storm are in concert asking the Bush administration to pull out the troops.

The youth of America especially in the "Blue States", some right out of high school are dying in the name of misinformed patriotism, trumpeted under the no-longer-popular guise of "war on terrorism".

Our stand on this issue is clear: we want the US-led Coalition forces to pull out of Iraq. All of our elected politicians have agreed to that.

But what is the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi administration doing to our own people who are voicing exactly the same principle of what the present government has written in stone?

Water-spraying the protesters is a puzzling act and a misuse of the state apparatus. Why humiliate them? What logical explanation must the Abdullah administration give to the public when in fact we have a broad coalition of peace activists such as Peace Malaysia asking Malaysians to join in a similar war protest?

Double standards

There seems to be an unwritten standard in the way we try to protest against war. Consider the difference between the incident that happened in the recent protest and the officially sanctioned one emanating from the government.

Umno Youth organised a peaceful demonstration in 2003, about two years ago. Youth leader Hishamuddin Hussein Onn wanted to bring George Bush and Tony Blair to the international court for the two warmonger's crimes against humanity.

A rally war was also planned.

According to one report: "Hishammuddin also announced other decisions made at today's meeting, including a plan to hold a peaceful demonstration on Saturday.

"Umno Youth expects some 50,000 people at the rally, which will begin 2pm at Padang Merbok and end at Dataran Merdeka.

Hishamuddin called on peace-loving Malaysians - including members of the opposition parties - to join the demonstration."

Peace Malaysia also issued a memorandum of protest .

It was a beautiful memorandum But can't we be angry together - citizens and the state? - Demang Daun Lebar and Sang Sapurba?

Monopoly on peace

Let our citizens express our anger over the Iraqi occupation in whatever peaceful ways they wish to. This is an expression of democracy.

No one has the monopoly over democracy, human rights, and the definition of peace and justice, I recall Anwar Ibrahim as saying in his meeting at the Pentagon. Being a former career diplomat, I am sure Abdullah would agree too. I am sure any sane and peace-loving Malaysian would also agree.

We ought to plan more protests, and in fact teach schoolchildren to protest against war and destruction. We might evolve into Costa Rica, a state which chose not to have a standing army.

We ought to be non-partisans when it comes to speaking up on issues that are plaguing humanity. The state cannot use its ideological apparatuses in deciding whose anti-war protest is more legitimate than the other.

We are still a young democracy that has the potential of learning to be free and responsible, in a safe environment. Let us not kill that enthusiasm.

Let us learn from the schoolchildren from Perlis. They might be one of the protesters water-sprayed.

We must teach our children how to become peaceful individuals by teaching them how to be "peace-makers, peace-keepers, and peace-builders", as sloganised by Kofi Annan. I am sure the prime minister, once a skilled diplomat, agree to this notion of education for peace and global security.

Only by teaching them how beautiful a protest against the crime of humanity can we teach them to the beauty of tolerance in the most meaningful sense of the word. The image of Malays, Chinese, Indians, Iban, Kadazan, Orang Asli, and Orang Bukan-Lagi-Asli, singing protest songs, carrying placards, banners, and other signs and symbols of protestation will demonstrate to ourselves and to the world that we Malaysians can also think about these issues.

But the image of these protesters being wildly dispersed is philosophically and politically hideous! The government need not continue to show its childishness in dealing with an issue.

Confusing notion of leadership

Protesters, we must educate our government on the monopoly of the freedom of expression.

We do not wish to continue with the legacy of Mahathir who was called a 'Wira Dunia Ketiga' or 'Third World Hero' for his frequent protests against all forms of colonialism, but yet use the state apparatus at his disposal to disperse protesters of all sort.

Mahathir was a great champion of freedom of speech for Third World nations, but also a great champion of silencing free speech in his own nation. This is a confusing notion of statesmanship.

Abdullah is emulating such heroism by championing the use of state apparatus not only to water-spray peace protestors, by sending confusing message on peace too. It is an utterly confusing in a world in need of voices of peace.

It is time that we the people, educate the current regime of the meaning of making a stand on the possibility of world peace. The American people are getting weary of the war, which has cost billions of dollars. The US government may go bankrupt soon if the war continues.

In our case, it seems that this aspect of intelligence of the Malaysian government - of making pro-peace stand - has not fully developed. We are confused - even when it comes to such basic diplomatic matters of grave concern.

Educators, in the broadest sense of the word, I urge you: Teach our schoolchildren the beauty of peace education. We are all educators for peace now. The world is no longer safe for our children and grandchildren. We prioritise bread over bombs. Steven Gan in a recent editorial wrote eloquently on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction especially amongst the richest most advanced and supposedly most civilised nations in the world.

Let us bring down warmongering governments through peaceful means, and dismantle systems of structural violence so that our children and grandchildren may live in a less mutually-assured destructive world.

In the meantime, the Abdullah administration owes a public apology to the war protestors. Expressions of peace is not a monopoly of the few.

Let us all educate for peace.