I totally agree with Polsains and Aku Tak Janji that the so-called pledge forced on academics and students reflects the desperation and insecurity that the government is now experiencing.

Loyalty cannot be imposed. It has to come from the heart when people feel that they are being treated justly and fairly by the powers that be.

More importantly, loyalty to the king and country should override other kinds of loyalties. It is wrong to equate loyalty to the government with loyalty to the country because there are times the government makes decisions that are inimical to national interest. Civil servants are always obliged to serve their country well.

As an academic, I feel this pledge compulsion is an insult to our intelligence. Academics, or at least most of them, are supposed to be thinking people. To force the imposition on a group of people whose primary task is to make Malaysia a centre of academic excellence is derogatory to the profession.