UM deputy vice-chancellor for student affairs Prof Datuk Dr Rohana Yusof has warned organisers against going ahead with an event featuring Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. – Pic courtesy um.edu.my, October 26, 2014.Banned from entering Universiti Malaya (UM) and speaking to its students, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tonight hit out at his alma mater for suppressing academic freedom.
Ahead of a speech to students tomorrow night, the opposition leader said the country's top university lacked spine and was illogical in saying that his presence on campus would tarnish its image.
He took to task UM's deputy vice-chancellor in charge of student affairs, Prof Datuk Dr Rohana Yusof, who has ordered students to stop tomorrow's event "40 Years: From UM to Prison".
"[Rohana] is showing utter contempt to the rights and dignity of not just Fahmi but the thousands of students themselves.
"Universiti Malaya must support academic freedom and the deputy VC must stop talking like an UMNO branch leader and start showing some intellectual back bone," Anwar said in a statement tonight.
"To suggest that the event would ‘damage the image’ of the university defies logic. On the contrary, such an event would help to enhance its image as an institution that fosters vibrant discourse on socio-economic and political developments."
Anwar was invited by PMUM to speak tomorrow night, the eve of his appeal at the Federal Court where he is seeking to overturn his sodomy conviction. If unsuccessful, he faces five years in prison.
PMUM's Fahmi has refused to retract the invitation and insists the event will go one.
Anwar's aide, Dr Fahmi Ngah, told The Malaysian Insider earlier today that the PKR de facto leader plans to attend the event, which will be held in the square outside the Dewan Tunku Canselor on the campus grounds.
"I deplore the latest acts of intimidation by UM against Fahmi," Anwar said of Rohana's statement reported by Berita Harian on October 24, that Fahmi could be suspended and fined RM200 for disobeying the university's ban on the event.
Anwar, who was once a student leader at UM, said students needed exposure to political and current issues for their academic and intellectual development.
"You cannot sweep under the carpet issues such as the rising cost of living, social injustice and the use of the Sedition Act as a tool of political repression and the economically oppressive National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN).
"Rather than trampling on the fundamental rights of the students in exercising their freedom of association and expression, the university authorities should instead focus its attention on how best to improve the university’s international ranking," he said.
UM was criticised earlier this month for not participating in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2014-2015. It justified this saying that the indicators used in the survey were not suitable for Malaysian universities younger than their western counterparts.
Anwar praised Fahmi for "braving the threats of expulsion and criminal prosecution" and said Putrajaya could to expect to remain in power "indefinitely".
"They must stop the current campaign of marginalising and intimidating student leaders, academicians, professors and lecturers who dare to question the establishment," he said.
- TMI
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