I cannot help but empathise and sympathise with USM student Soh Sook Hwa over her predicament. She has been punished and her future is at stake all because of helping the opposition during the general election in March.

When will our shallow-minded authorities ever change to provide our students with an environment in which to use their intellectual capacities to the fullest in terms of independence of thoughts and creativity?

The irony is that my own daughter gained admission into a British university to study International Relations and Politics (upon appeal) based on her letter criticising the Universities and University Colleges Act at the now defunct website SuaraAnum.

The university's admissions officer had earlier rejected her application based on her poor results for Sociology and Economics which he thought was due to her inability to write good essays.

Upon receipt of her appeal via email, he changed his mind within 24 hours saying: 'I enjoyed reading your letter enormously and believe that it illustrates both your commitment and ability to study politics'.

At the end of her first year at that British university, she received a prize for the Best First Year Politics Student from her professor!

I wonder how our local universities that offer courses in politics evaluate their students.