The assault on academic freedom

By Ying Hooi

There is little for academic freedom in Malaysia. Has our academic freedom become such an alien idea that it no longer has a place in our universities?

An academic discussion recently featuring Wan Saiful Wan Jan, CEO of Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), held at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), was forced to have its session in the dark as its authorities sealed off the proposed venue at Latar Siswa situated in the Faculty of Modern Languages.

Responding to this, UPM’s management said it was part of the Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) because there was a need to apply for permission prior to the event, which the organisers had failed to do. As reported, the event also saw heavy security presence, disallowing the taking of photographs or video.

It is ridiculous to disallow a research think-tank like Ideas to have an academic session in the compound of public universities. I also personally do not see any “threat” from its topic, “Liberalisation of economy: the best system for the poor”. In fact, such activities should have been organised in a more frequent basis in the universities.

And the way UPM addressed Ideas’s session has, again, attracted attention to the state of academic freedom in Malaysia.

Calling it “Kelas Pencerahan”, or Enlightenment Class, I am glad to know that this informal session was organised by a group of students who are part of the Facebook community page.

Public universities should not be a place just to obtain good grades. They should be a place where diverse ideas are celebrated, and intellectual independence and autonomy admired.

One of the key problems is the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) and its regulations that have stifled the intellectual development of local universities. Although university students are now allowed to engage in political activities under an amendment of the UUCA, students who hold positions in political parties are barred from campus elections.

Last year, University of Malaya’s Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMCEDEL) was forced to scrap its second session of a political forum, which featured members of parliaments from both coalitions.

This was because of the “instruction” and pressure from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Higher Education Ministry as highlighted by its Director, Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohamad Redzuan Othman.

His reason was, I quote: “When I returned from London two weeks ago, I received a text message asking that it be cancelled… I was told this was an instruction from PMO and the Higher Education Ministry... no reason was given”.

According to the Article 27 of the 1997 Unesco Recommendation Concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel:

“… Higher-education teaching personnel are entitled to the maintaining of academic freedom, that is to say, the right, without constriction by prescribed doctrine, to freedom of teaching and discussion, freedom in carrying out research and disseminating and publishing the results thereof, freedom to express freely their opinion about the institution or system in bodies. All higher-education teaching personnel should have the right to fulfil their functions without discrimination of any kind and without fear of repression by the state or any other source….”

Sadly the case is different in Malaysia. Academic freedom to some extent is restricted, despite efforts of branding higher learning institutions as research universities.

For example, the suspension of former International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Professor Dr Abdul Aziz Bari from his position after he criticised a decree made by the Selangor Sultan, questioning the decision on the Selangor Islamic Religious Department’s raid on Damansara Utama Methodist Church. After much pressure from the public, the suspension was lifted.

This goes to show that the quest for a greater academic freedom remains a myth. Much more will be needed before actual academic freedom could be achieved in Malaysia.

After all, the role of an academician is not just restricted to writing research papers and teachings, it is equally important to also contribute insight that is relevant to society. – December 16, 2013.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.