Mindef to probe if Ridhuan Tee 'taught ethnic cleansing'

The Defence Ministry will investigate allegations that Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) lecturer Ridhuan Tee Abdullah had taught ethnic cleansing at the university.

However, Deputy Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri (left) said it is not wrong for a lecturer to raise issues of ethnic cleansing if this is based on facts.

"I do not have information on this but we have to be fair (to Ridhuan) and look at whether the subject was taught in a seditious manner or (if it was) to expose students to facts that they need to know," Rahim said during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.

"As far as I know, lecturers recruited to teach at UPNM have wide experience and knowledge, and if they were exposing things ... based on facts, and not seditiously, it is not a problem. We will investigate this matter and inform you of the outcome."

Rahim was replying Teresa Kok (DAP-Seputeh) who asked about Ridhuan, who allegedly "taught ethnic cleansing to students in his course".

Kok had asked what the government is doing about Ridhuan who has been accused of also teaching things which contravene "defence ethics and laws".

In parliamentary debates last month, Kok had also questioned why no action was taken against the professor and newspaper columnist after a fellow academic complained that Ridhuan had plagiarised his work.

Citing his columns in Malay language dailies, Kok said Ridhuan had also glorified fascist leader Adolf Hilter and supported the ethnic cleansing of Jews.