There is no problem with extreme ideas, says Dr M

It is okay to hold ideas that are extreme as long as others are not compelled to accept it, particularly through violence, said former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“If it is only extreme, there is no problem. However, when this extreme idea is followed with action to force others to do what we want, it is unwarranted,” he told some 3,000 university students at a dialogue session at University Malaya, today.

He added that as much as each person has the right to voice his criticisms, it is also the other party’s prerogative whether to accept it or not.

Mahathir, who is also the patron for Malay rights pressure group Perkasa, was responding to a student who is distraught that some of his peers were “extreme and emotional” in fighting for their causes to the extent of perceiving everything the government does as wrong.

The dialogue session today is a joint effort between the university and pro-establishment student body Aspirasi, as part of the latter’s Peaceful Campus campaign.

Some 3,000 students from various universities attended the program today in addition to audiences watching a live telecast in 11 other public universities.

[More to follow]