Media Statement
Policing of Public Universities
The lecturer's 'reporting' of the activities of these people was apparently to assist Umno Youth in compiling a list of students and lecturers who are deemed 'anti-government' and 'pro-opposition'.
This unhealthy development on campus is worrying because the fate of these students and academics would seem to largely hinge upon the spying lecturer's report and his questionable notion of what constitutes 'anti-government activities'. It also creates unnecessary suspicion and tension within the academic fraternity and may disrupt its noble pursuit of knowledge and truth.
Such clandestine work is not only undemocratic but also anti-intellectual for it strikes at the very foundation of a university education in which ideas, irrespective of their political hues, are supposed to be contested and debated - not nailed to and buried in the coffin of political expediency. Needless to say, academic and intellectual excellence is normally achieved through a free meeting of minds and ideas.
In reacting to the Universiti Malaya administration's reported move to forcibly seek the resignation of the spying lecturer concerned, Umno Youth contends that the lecturer should instead have been 'protected' by the varsity's administration � and not reprimanded or punished. We are alarmed by such a contention.
University authorities in the country must address this problem of 'policing' before it becomes � if it hasn't already -- part of the political culture in Malaysian campuses. This is all the more important in the context of the recent move to compel the academic community to sign the contentious Pledge of Allegiance or Akujanji. It will possibly help to avoid a worst-case scenario where a few academics and students may be misled into believing that spying on others deemed 'anti-government' is consistent with the spirit of the Pledge.
In times like this, it is crucial to remind ourselves that a vibrant and dignified academic community is one that celebrates differences in opinion and not one that displays the herd mentality.
Aliran Executive Committee
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Aliran is deeply disturbed by a recent press report that a Universiti Malaya lecturer was allegedly spying on fellow colleagues and students considered to be critical of the government.