OCTOBER 21 — We spend millions educating young Malaysians to think critically, yet the moment one asks an uncomfortable question, we seem more interested in questioning the student than answering the question. What an extraordinary contradiction! Our universities proudly advertise critical thinking, intellectual freedom and independent judgment as essential graduate qualities. Yet when these qualities are demonstrated beyond the safety of classroom discussions, they suddenly become controversial. Have we been teaching our students to think, or merely training them to know when to keep their mouths shut?
The recent public reaction to a university student's question concerning fundraising to help former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak pay a fine exposes something far more troubling than the question itself. It reveals how uncomfortable we have become with independent thinking, particularly when it challenges political loyalties, established beliefs or public sensitivities. Whether we agree with the student is beside the point. The real issue is whether Malaysia genuinely wants graduates who can think for themselves or simply individuals who have mastered the art of saying what others want to hear. If asking an uncomfortable question is enough to provoke public outrage, perhaps it is not the student's maturity that needs examining, but our own.
