The British Empire oozed away after WWII like tide receding in the Bay of Fundy. Behind in the mudflats of history they left their language, their law and a sense of fair play.

Malaysia is a beneficiary of all three. Today we send our students to this grand old isle to get an English university education, one which will prepare them for positions of responsibility and leadership when they return.

To tend their welfare the various ministers visit them there. Is there a sight more ridiculous than a politician trying to explain away the malefactions of his party to a new generation of idealists?

The deputy minister for education was recently in England to convince the students there that the institutions in place in Malaysia are responsible for their good fortune, and if they are not careful they will leave wreckage for their children. They are reminded of the doctors and lawyers that have been educated by the BN coalition, with the implication that if Umno disappears all educational opportunities will disappear also.

Aziz Shamsuddin was once political secretary to PM Mahathir Mohamad. Today he works in the Education Ministry.

His task is recovering 'the hearts and minds of the young', especially the university students. Hence the latest foray.

Basically he stares into blank, not hostile, faces. They are totally indifferent to him. He is wasting his time, their time, and the people's money.

He has handicaps. There is the Universities and University Colleges Act. If he discussed that, audience participation would improve. There is the Official Secrets Act. Does he support that? There is the state of emergency that is supposed to exist in Malaysia as justification for these laws. Can he perhaps discuss that?

How does he feel about the allegations regarding the judiciary. There is some interest in that. Does he have a view on the ISA law? Each and every student has an interest in that. Perhaps he might like to discuss his personal view of the Printing Presses and Publications Act.

Does the Anwar Ibrahim trial interest him? Has he formed an opinion regarding the treatment the police give their prisoners, including the illegal immigrants? How does he regard the failure of the government to prosecute political felons? Has he an idea for improving the prosecution of the innocent, which seems to originate in the Attorney-General's office.

Aziz is in the land which spawned the common law used in Malaysia today. As a fundamental, it states that all men are created equal before the law. That suggests that politicians are not immune to testify in the courtroom, nor are they immune to accountability for public funds. Nor are they immune from prosecution for bribes taken in the course of their official duties.

In England there is regard for the law. It is tantamount to a sacred trust. In the law there is security. There is fairness. There is truth. There is honour. But not in Malaysia.

When the Education Ministry has a spokesman who is willing to discuss these issues and ideas, attendance and attention will improve. Until then, let's not waste each other's time, shall we? Better to send Rais Yatim.

Aziz sees an audience of pliable minds, suitable subjects for psychological manipulation. He brings them a mentality and technique from the Special Branch and Psychological Warfare Unit.

The students see a man tainted by a system of money worship. They see how it destroys character; how it makes men callow and cruel. How a sense of honour is corroded so truth is fuzzy, fading gently into lie. Sometimes not so gently.

The students are not cynical, they are sad. They don't say so, they just let him go on ... and on. He does not see that they are educated beyond his effrontery. Their intelligence transcends his insult.

His guile would work in other places, but not in England.

He stands in the shadow of Blackstone and McNaughton. His backdrop is the field of Runnymede, where human rights were first established for English-speaking people. In Malaysia, where our lawyers are now showing an encouraging spirit, an appeal to the past could still persuade.