'Local academia has self-promotion focus, not to help society,' says architecture don

 

After former minister Khairy Jamaluddin criticised historians for their reluctance to correct misinformation, an outspoken academic has echoed similar concerns.

According to Islamic architecture professor Tajuddin Rasdi, he observed the same pattern throughout his years in academia, with many scholars more concerned about university rankings than contributing to societal improvement.

“When I was part of a group of 70 Malay professors, I asked many times for the professors to use social media to educate the Malays and Malaysians on the various issues plaguing our country, but my plea was totally ignored.

“In my 40 years of academia, I have been in faculty rooms, senate rooms, and board rooms where the only issues that seem to matter were money, university ranking, and accolades.

“Nothing much was said to use knowledge to help politicians change society for the better.

“I have concluded that academia in Malaysia is a self-promotion exercise, nothing more, everything less,” he said in a statement to Malaysiakini.

Former minister Khairy Jamaluddin

In a podcast snippet published yesterday, Khairy blamed “cowardly” academicians for remaining silent while public misconceptions about Malaysia’s history continued to spread.

According to the former MP, he found it difficult to find experts willing to speak on his podcast about history, including a renowned historian who was worried about being “misinterpreted”.

A scholar’s responsibility

Tajuddin said he, too, had a similar experience not too long ago.

He said he once asked a famous professor to engage the public and help mitigate many issues about Islam, which was the academic’s area of expertise.

However, his suggestion was dismissed by the unnamed academic, saying he “disliked the social media”.

“I have always said in my writings and talks that a country fails not because of politicians but because the ‘ulamak’ or scholars fail to educate the people on what should matter within the specific context of issues and politics.

“In Islam, the responsibility of the scholar is about social change for the better and not collecting brownie points to be called a ‘scholar’ as a prestige title,” Tajuddin added. - Mkini