Kuala Lampur, Aug. 11 -- The most meaningful way to honour this Merdeka Day is to have the courage to speak truthfully, to question what we are told and to insist on the truth.

That is what makes a recent interview with Mohamed Tawfik Ismail, son of the late Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, so compelling. He speaks with a candour that is strikingly rare in public life today. There is nothing polished or rehearsed about it.

He tells it as he sees it.

But there is more to Tawfik than candour. His is a voice shaped by education, professional experience and a political life that taught him early that independence of mind comes at a price.

He takes us into an era when convictions mattered, disagreements could be fierce, and speaking independent...