He calls for patience, saying academic freedom isn't something that can be achieved overnight.
KUALA LUMPUR: Azmi Sharom has called for patience in the fight for academic freedom but said the public must not stop pushing for it.
“Trying to achieve standards in democratic practice, I see it as a process,” the Universiti of Malaya law lecturer said in an interview with FMT.
“It’s a process where we have to be patient, and we have to keep pushing every single step of the way.”
Azmi today filed an application with the High Court to challenge the constitutionality of the Sedition Act, under which he has been charged because of comments he made in relation to the ongoing Selangor political crisis.
He referred to a 2011 case in which another law lecturer, Abdul Aziz Bari, had his service with the International Islamic University suspended for a similar offence. Police investigated Aziz under the Sedition Act, prompting numerous student demonstrations calling for academic freedom and university autonomy.
Azmi said the current movement against the Sedition Act and for academic freedom actually began with Aziz’s case.
“The act should have been gone back then,” he said.
But it was not a lost cause, he added. “It’s difficult to sustain a protest for three years, but it is clear that what happened to Aziz and what is happening to me now has raised awareness about the Sedition Act not only amongst students but also the general public.”
He said the greater public awareness was crucial in the fight to get the Sedition Act repealed and, by extension, in achieving academic freedom.
Referring to the application he filed today, Azmi said, “The constitutional rights that exist for us as Malaysians have to be protected.
“Limitations to these rights have to be done exactly the way the constitution allows. The wording is very specific. These rights have to be taken pedantically because they are extremely important.”
“Trying to achieve standards in democratic practice, I see it as a process,” the Universiti of Malaya law lecturer said in an interview with FMT.
“It’s a process where we have to be patient, and we have to keep pushing every single step of the way.”
Azmi today filed an application with the High Court to challenge the constitutionality of the Sedition Act, under which he has been charged because of comments he made in relation to the ongoing Selangor political crisis.
He referred to a 2011 case in which another law lecturer, Abdul Aziz Bari, had his service with the International Islamic University suspended for a similar offence. Police investigated Aziz under the Sedition Act, prompting numerous student demonstrations calling for academic freedom and university autonomy.
Azmi said the current movement against the Sedition Act and for academic freedom actually began with Aziz’s case.
“The act should have been gone back then,” he said.
But it was not a lost cause, he added. “It’s difficult to sustain a protest for three years, but it is clear that what happened to Aziz and what is happening to me now has raised awareness about the Sedition Act not only amongst students but also the general public.”
He said the greater public awareness was crucial in the fight to get the Sedition Act repealed and, by extension, in achieving academic freedom.
Referring to the application he filed today, Azmi said, “The constitutional rights that exist for us as Malaysians have to be protected.
“Limitations to these rights have to be done exactly the way the constitution allows. The wording is very specific. These rights have to be taken pedantically because they are extremely important.”
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