COMMENT | The recent protest at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), where student activists burned a caricature of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, did not only set fire to a banner.

It also ignited a national conversation on the boundaries of dissent, the fragility of political symbolism, and the state of democratic expression in Malaysia.

What began as a student-led rally against corruption and failing infrastructure in Sabah has evolved into a litmus test for how the nation negotiates protest, power, and political memory.