The latest news from the Philippines that over a hundred people have died in the city of Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao in less than a week as fighters affiliated with Islamic State (IS) engaged in violent clashes with government forces, coupled with the gory reports of the senseless bombings and killings of over 50 people in Manchester, Jakarta and Egypt, in the past week are sad reminders of the troubled world we are living in today.

They are also challenges to Malaysians to preserve the country as an oasis of peace, tolerance, harmony and goodwill in a plural society where the greatest religions and civilizations meet in confluence.

Is there something Malaysia can teach the world? I think so. Read the rest of this entry »