COMMENT | In Malaysia, an alumni dinner is no longer just a chance to catch up with old friends, reminisce about inspiring teachers, or toast memories of decades past.

No, it has become a moral battleground, a stage for political theatrics, where wine and beer glasses trigger national alarm.

On the 29th September, St Michael’s Institution (SMI) in Ipoh, my alma mater, held a private alumni dinner, attended entirely by adults, outside school hours. No current pupils were present, only former ones.

Alarmingly, the happy event was recast as an “alcohol festival” (pesta arak) by PAS politicians.

Adults had gathered responsibly as they had done every year. Suddenly, a scandal of national importance had emerged. Welcome to the world of both the absurd and hypocritical in Malaysia.