Varsities entitled to academic freedom but Malay congress crossed the line, says G25

The Malay Dignity Congress on Oct 6 was attended by Malay leaders including Dr Mahathir Mohamad and others from the ruling coalition.

PETALING JAYA: G25 says there is nothing wrong with public universities organising forums on societal concerns as they are entitled to academic autonomy, but that this was not the case with the Malay Dignity Congress which saw speakers delivering controversial speeches on race and religion.

The group of former top civil servants referred to a forum of its own that it recently organised at a public university.

“If we compare the congress to our last forum, it would be clear that such public gatherings, be they forums or congresses, do not blatantly project any political agenda.

“They are meant to increase knowledge and educate,” said G25, in the latest in a series of criticism against organisers of the Oct 6 gathering in Shah Alam which saw the attendance of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and several ruling politicians.

The event, jointly organised by Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Mara, drew condemnation from both sides of the political divide after the chief organiser, UM vice-chancellor Zainal Kling, referred to the citizenship status of non-Malays whom he said were bound by a “social contract”.

G25, saying regimes promoting racial narratives “have ended up in the dustbin of history”, said the academics at the congress had crossed the line in their speeches.

“We in Malaysia must not allow the universities to get away with supporting those who use destructive Nazi tactics of dividing the people to facilitate desperate politicians in playing on the emotions of the ordinary people in their greed for power,” it added. - FMT