Universiti Malaya and McCorporatisation

Aliran views with concern the current controversy surrounding the physical and commercial entry of the transnational fast-food chain, McDonald’s, into the otherwise staid grounds of Malaysia’s oldest institution of higher learning, Universiti Malaya.

The unmistakable corporate logo of the global franchiser has reportedly been erected too close to the new building of the university’s Law Faculty that it offends the sensibilities of some Malaysians. Others, cultural nationalists in particular, feel that the presence of McDonald’s on campus is an affront to Malaysia’s cultural sovereignty, which is supposed to be jealously guarded by local culturalists and academics, among others.

We appreciate the apprehension shown by these concerned Malaysians about the brazen intrusion of corporate bodies into the academic world and into our cultural space. But we shouldn’t be surprised; it is indeed the logic of capital to go wherever there’s money to be made.

In this case, we are witnessing one of the consequences of the university’s corporatisation, where the primary interest - profit-seeking - of global cultural and commercial outfits, such as McDonald’s, converges with that of the newly corporatised university.

This is one of many cases where the so-called cultural imperialism, which the local elite often warns us about, actively involves international (and western) capital tied to local allies. And this is despite the local elite’s publicly professed concern for what it regards as cultural identity and nationalism.

We are well aware that fast-food chains such as McDonald’s are already in our midst and form part of our popular culture, bringing with them their cultural baggage and economic philosophy into the local milieu.

Nonetheless, the physical entry of the global icon into the local academia begs at least one question: will the floodgates be opened wide enough for other transnational corporations to enter and flood our local campuses?

The university’s flirtation with market forces, unless properly handled, can influence in several ways its educational and cultural philosophy and policy. Even worse, it may restrict the university’s ability to distinguish  between what is morally acceptable and what is not.

Mustafa K. Anuar
Executive Committee Member
21 January 1998