Najib opens fire on Maszlee after 'Bossku' event postponed

Najib Abdul Razak questioned Education Minister Maszlee Malik's promise of academic freedom after Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) postponed a programme which the former premier was scheduled to attend this afternoon.

"The education minister said, 'This is a new era, we will have reforms, we will be more open, we will espouse freedom... we will invite Umno and PAS leaders with an open heart.

"What has happened, dear minister? You (Pakatan Harapan) can't fulfil your promises on tolls, to lower fuel prices, to abolish PTPTN (national higher education fund) debt, and now you can't keep your promise for (academic) freedom," he said.

Najib, who was supposed to attend a “Sembang Santai Bossku” event at 3.30pm this afternoon, was speaking to students outside the UKM mosque in Bangi.

UKM deputy vice-chancellor for student affairs and alumni Roslee Rajikan told The Star that the event had been postponed for security reasons, and the Education Ministry was not involved in the decision.

Meanwhile, during his speech, Najib also asked why DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang had allegedly been given better treatment than him by UKM.

"Kit Siang was allowed in UKM. What does Kit Siang have over me? What has Kit Siang done for UKM? What has (my father) Tun Razak done for UKM? What have I done for UKM?" he said.

Lim was the speaker at a UKM forum last December.

Previously, during Najib's time as prime minister, there were several instances where opposition leaders were made unwelcome at public universities.

In October 2014, then-opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was barred from giving a speech at Universiti Malaya (UM), leading to an incident where student protesters broke through the university's gates.

Meanwhile in May 2015, a scuffle broke out at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) after campus security seized a microphone from PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli during a talk on the goods and services tax that also featured then Umno Youth exco member Lokman Noor Adam.

Rafizi and Lokman, however, had held a similar talk peacefully at UM just two months prior to the incident at IIUM. - Mkini