After four decades, Kit Siang to speak in UM again

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has been scheduled to speak in University Malaya on Dec 7, marking his first speaking event at the institution since the 1970s.

Lim is listed as a keynote speaker for the launch of 509: The People Have Spoken, a compilation of articles on the May 9 election.

The launch will also see a panel discussion involving prominent economists KS Jomo and Edmund Terence Gomez, alongside Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) fellow Tricia Yeoh.

When contacted, Lim said that before the University and University College Act (UUCA) 1971 was enforced, there was always robust political debate in UM.

"Before UUCA was enacted, I was even speaking with Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the same stage... there were a lot of debates on the economy at the time, but it ended one or two years after UUCA.

"We talked plenty on issues of politics, education and the economy then," he told Malaysiakini.

On how he felt about being to set foot in UM after four decades, Lim expressed his hope that more universities would host intellectual debates.

He said universities should encourage politicians from both sides of the divide to hold discussions.

"Universities should have more freedom and space to express themselves," he said.

The UUCA, which was enacted when Mahathir was education minister in the 1970s, had often been blamed for stifling the free expression of academics and students. - Mkini